Chuck Hagel confirmed as Secretary of Defense<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Senate confirmed Chuck Hagel as our new Secretary of Defense.\u00a0 Though Hagel, a former Senator from Nebraska,\u00a0 is a Republican, most Republicans\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chuck-hagel-confirmed-as-secretary-of-defense\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chuck Hagel confirmed as Secretary of Defense\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Senate confirmed Chuck Hagel as our new Secretary of Defense.\u00a0 Though Hagel, a former Senator from Nebraska,\u00a0 is a Republican, most Republicans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chuck-hagel-confirmed-as-secretary-of-defense\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cranach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-02-27T10:30:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-02-27T03:26:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chuck-hagel-confirmed-as-secretary-of-defense\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chuck-hagel-confirmed-as-secretary-of-defense\/\",\"name\":\"Chuck Hagel confirmed as Secretary of Defense\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-02-27T10:30:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-02-27T03:26:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\"},\"description\":\"The Senate confirmed Chuck Hagel as our new Secretary of Defense.\u00a0 Though Hagel, a former Senator from Nebraska,\u00a0 is a Republican, most Republicans\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chuck-hagel-confirmed-as-secretary-of-defense\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chuck-hagel-confirmed-as-secretary-of-defense\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chuck-hagel-confirmed-as-secretary-of-defense\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Chuck Hagel confirmed as Secretary of Defense\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\",\"name\":\"Cranach\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\",\"name\":\"Gene Veith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gene Veith\"},\"description\":\"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. 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A divided Senate on Tuesday finally confirmed Chuck Hagel as secretary of Defense, handing President Barack Obama a victory on one of his key Cabinet appointments after weeks of partisan rancor.<\/p>\n

The former Republican senator from Nebraska, who is expected to be sworn in on Wednesday, will take the reins at the Pentagon as some 66,000 Americans serve in the ongoing war in Afghanistan and just days before automatic, across-the-board spending cuts are set to kick in on Friday.<\/p>\n

His confirmation, approved 58-41, required only a simple majority after the Senate voted 71-27 earlier in the day to end debate. Four Republicans joined Democrats in confirming Hagel: Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Mike Johanns of Nebraska, Richard Shelby of Alabama and Rand Paul of Kentucky. . . .<\/p>\n

Republicans fought Hagel\u2019s nomination as few Defense secretary nominees have ever been contested, angry over what they perceived as his betrayal on the Iraq War, past comments about Israel and Iran and what the GOP saw as dovish positions on defense spending and nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n

Republicans blasted Hagel in his Jan. 31 confirmation hearing, for which he was widely panned, and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) urged President Barack Obama to nominate someone else.<\/p>\n

via Chuck Hagel confirmed for secretary of defense in 58-41 Senate vote \u2013 Tim Mak \u2013 POLITICO.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Should the Republicans have fought this battle, or should the president have the right to get his nominees approved?\u00a0 Do you think Hagel will do a good job?\u00a0 What about Kerry?\u00a0 Is this shaping up as a more liberal administration than last time?<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote><\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"