GOP opposition to top defense pick grows
03/02/2021
Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee are meeting privately on Tuesday morning to discuss their growing policy concerns about Colin Kahl, President Joe Biden’s nominee for undersecretary of defense for policy at the Pentagon, according to sources close to the committee.
Kahl, a former Obama State Department official, was a key architect of the Iran deal and has been at the forefront of a number of controversial moves, including, reportedly, the decision to remove a statement affirming Jerusalem as Israel’s capital from the 2012 Democratic National Convention platform.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) was the first member of the Senate Armed Services Committee to publicly oppose Kahl’s appointment on Monday, according to Politico, citing serious disagreements on policy.
But other Republicans have privately voiced similar objections and are looking to plan out their next steps ahead of Kahl’s scheduled confirmation hearing on Thursday.
“Republicans have concerns about Kahl and want to discuss amongst themselves the seriousness” of the issues at the closed-door 11 a.m. meeting, one source told the Washington Free Beacon.
Republicans are closely eying Kahl’s background and expect to raise a number of their disagreements during his hearing, which “is going to be sporty, to say the least,” according to the source.
Read More: Washington Free Beacon
