Chuck Hagel

Outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told CNN that ground troops may be required to fight ISIS. "It could be necessary," Hagel said.

Once upon a time, secretary of defense was something of a prestigious title. But if recent news is any indication, in the twilight of the Obama administration the gig is about as desirable as “chicken sexer” or “sewer inspector.” First, there is the ongoing fallout from former senator Chuck Hagel’s…

Outgoing Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel recently reported on the efforts his department has made against sexual assault within the ranks of the military. A year ago, President Obama directed Hagel to conduct a full review of progress being made, and while Hagel reported a decrease of twenty-five…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with editor William Kristol on Chuck Hagel's firing and the Obama administration's continuing appeasement of Iran.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with editor William Kristol on Chuck Hagel's firing and the Obama administration's continuing appeasement of Iran.

The resignation of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel creates a golden opportunity for the new Republican majority in the Congress: not only will the hearings on Hagel’s replacement be a natural venue for reviewing the defense reductions and many retreats of the Obama years, but they provide a forum for…

So Chuck Hagel has been fired as defense secretary. We were critical of his appointment, and opposed his confirmation by the Senate. But let's be clear: Hagel has done what he was asked and what was expected of him at the Pentagon. To the degree he has deviated from the Obama White House line, he's…

The AP is reporting that:

As the military prepares to take on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is ordering a review ... of the military's ties to the National Football League. This comes "in the wake of the scandal over how the league is handling domestic-abuse allegations against players,"…

After U.S. goalie Tim Howard had a record-setting 16 saves in the American team’s 2-1 World Cup knockout loss to Belgium, a wag edited Chuck Hagel’s Wikipedia entry to show Tim Howard as the true U.S. secretary of defense. The meme took off on the Internet, and by Wednesday afternoon Hagel was…

As the Obama administration’s case for the Bowe Bergdahl-Taliban prisoner exchange further unraveled last week, the geo-political implications of the deal became clearer. They’re not pretty.

A new ad set to be released later today alleges that Mississippi senator Thad Cochran is in part responsible for the release of 5 Taliban commanders from Gitmo. The ad, titled "Cochran Supported the Release of 5 Terrorists," is being released by the Campaign for American Values, a super PAC run by…

The Washington Free Beacon, which has broken several scoops related to Hillary Clinton, has been banned from using the Clinton archive at the University of Arkansas:

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered "the amphibious transport dock ship USS Mesa Verde into the Arabian Gulf," the Defense Department says in a press release. "The ship has completed its transit through the Strait of Hormuz," says a Navy admiral.

The last question asked at Monday night's closed-door briefing of members of the House of Representatives was a simple one: Who made the decision to transfer five top Taliban officials held at Guantanamo Bay to Qatar in exchange for the return of the Taliban's lone American POW, Army sergeant Bowe…

Did the detainees in Guantanamo Bay know about the transfer of five senior Taliban commanders before members of Congress?

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is "looking" at banning the sale of tobacco at military installations. According to one military publication, Hagel appears to support it.

“I think that cutting the defense budget in significant ways right now is a serious mistake. When we’ve cut the budget before at the end of the Cold War, at the end of Vietnam and other times, it’s been because we thought the world was going to be safer place. No one can make that case right now."…

As Andrew Tilghman at Military Times reports, Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, is telling the troops that, while they may not be getting much in the way of pay raises, they will be better off for it and that:

News broke this week that under a plan released by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, the United States Army will be reduced to its smallest force since before World War II.  Though not directly related to that plan, another announcement this week by the Defense Department gives, perhaps, a taste of…

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast, with editor William Kristol on President Obama's defense cuts.

It's been almost a year since THE WEEKLY STANDARD quoted Philip Larkin’s great 1969 poem, “Homage to a Government." Yesterday the Obama administration released its 2015 defense budget, shrinking the Army to its lowest size since 1940 and reducing base defense spending to less than 3 percent of GDP.…

The Republican chairman of the House Budget committee criticized the Obama administration's plans to shrink the defense budget in a statement. 

Andrew Marshall, the longtime director of the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment, has had a number of titles conferred on him over the years. A 1999 profile in Washingtonian magazine dubbed him “the most influential policy maker you have never heard of.” Others of us who have known him over the…

Showing the good sense for which it is famous, the federal government—specifically the Obama Department of Defense—has announced its plans to cancel the nationally televised Air Force-Navy football game on Saturday, thereby jeopardizing millions of dollars (and inconveniencing a great many…

In a column Friday, Bill McGurn of the New York Post attributes the Obama administration's foreign policy woes to an overabundance of former members of the U.S. Senate. Here's an excerpt:

In a statement, the Pentagon says, "the United States military is prepared for any contingency involving Syria." The statement comes from this announcement of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's phone call with his British and French counterparts:

The British launched the opening attack of the 3rd battle of Ypres on July 31, 1917.  The objective was to destroy a rail junction on which the German army depended for Western Front supplies.  The plan included British naval as well as amphibious assaults on the nearby Belgian coast.  The naval…

The Pentagon just released this statement to the press, announcing "Same-Sex Spouse Benefits" to "uniformed service members and Department of Defense civilian employees."

The Washington Post editorial board criticizes the Obama administration's dereliction of duty on defense spending:

Mackenzie Eaglen, writing about the weakening of the military:

The Wall Street Journal reports:

House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan asked Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel whether he recommended the president veto a defense spending bill. Hagel answered by saying he hasn't been consulted on the legislation:

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had some words about the cyber threat from China while speaking today in Singapore. But a Chinese general, in the room for the speech, immediately responded by saying, "China is not convinced."

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s address to the National Defense University today, hyped by the administration as a “strong message that the time has come for [the Department of Defense] to consider fundamental change in how it is organized and how it operates to better reflect 21st century…

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel discusses the threat of North Korea with his Chinese counterpart yesterday evening, according to the Pentagon.

Lee Smith, writing in Tablet: 

John Podhoretz, writing in the New York Post:

The Senate confirmed Chuck Hagel as the next secretary of defense early Tuesday evening, with 58 senators supporting his nomination and 41, all Republicans, opposing. The boss, in his capacity as the chairman of the Emergency Committee for Israel, responded in a statement:

The Senate voted for cloture on the debate over the nomination of former Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel for defense secretary Tuesday afternoon. Seventy-one senators, including 18 Republicans, voted to end the debate and move to an up or down vote on Hagel. Carl Levin, the chairman of the armed…

Adam Kredo reports that the Indian embassy in Washington says Chuck Hagel's views are not based in reality:

Quin Hillyer reports that Alabama Republicans are upset that Senator Richard Shelby is support Chuck Hagel for defense secretary:

National Review Online reports that Chuck Hagel has been endorsed by Louis Farrakhan. The Nation of Islam head likes Hagel because he sounds just like himself.

The Emergency Committee for Israel is running this ad on Chuck Hagel in the Hill and Wall Street Journal: 

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has written a letter to Chuck Hagel to ask that he open his Senate archive at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Graham, who also asks Hagel to authorize the release of past speeches organized by the Washington Speakers Bureau, believes interested parties…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast, hosted by Michael Graham, with Bill Kristol on why President Obama's sequester isn't the answer -- reform is.

CNN's Mike Mount covers the closed-off Chuck Hagel archive at the University of Nebraska-Omaha:

Adam Kredo reports that Senator Jim Inhofe is urging his colleagues to vote against cloture for Chuck Hagel:

Quin Hillyer, writing at the Center for Individual Freedom, explains why Senate Republicans should continue filibustering Chuck Hagel's nomination for defense secretary:

A group of 15 Republican senators have sent the following letter to President Obama asking for Chuck Hagel's nomination as secretary of defense to be withdrawn:

Last week, Alana Goodman of the Washington Free Beacon discovered a contemporaneous account of a 2007 speech Chuck Hagel gave at Rutgers University. The account, from Hagel supporter George Ajjan, was posted on Ajjan’s website the day after the speech. During the Q&A segment of his appearance,…

South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham has just sent a letter to Barack Obama's defense secretary nominee, Chuck Hagel. Graham asks if, at a 2010 appearance at Rutgers University, Hagel said Israel "was risking becoming an apartheid state."

Omaha, Nebraska

Chuck Hagel, Barack Obama's defense secretary nominee and a former Nebraska senator, said in a 2008 interview that he agreed that the United States has not been a "fair or credible peace broker" in the Middle East, specifically with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Omaha, Nebraska

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Bill Kristol, hosted by Michael Graham:

At a 2010 appearance at Rutgers University, former Nebraska senator and current defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel reportedly said that the state of Israel risks "becoming an apartheid state if it didn't allow the Palestinians to form a state." Hagel also referred to current Israeli prime…

Bret Stephens, writing in the Wall Street Journal:

Journalist Bob Woodward reported on Fox News this morning that Democratic senators are calling the White House to see whether Chuck Hagel will withdraw his nomination as secretary of defense:

The American Jewish Committee released a statement yesterday urging the Senate to continue to examine the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense. 

Two U.S. senators have written a letter to Chuck Hagel to ask the defense secretary nominee to explain his assertion that "the State Department was becoming an adjunct of the Israeli Foreign Ministry." Hagel, the Washington Free Beacon reported yesterday, made the comment in 2007.

Former Defense Secretary William Cohen says that Hagel is now "in a difficult position." Politico reports:

John Podhoretz, writing in the New York Post:

The Emergency Committee for Israel releases this statement from Bill Kristol on the Senate's decision to delay the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense:

On the Senate floor this morning, Harry Reid said it's "outlandish" to say that the Obama "administration hasn't been forthcoming" in the Benghazi terror attack:

Senate majority leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said on the floor this morning that it's "tragic" Republicans are refusing immediately to accept Chuck Hagel as the next secretary of defense. Some Republicans contend that they need more information on Hagel before voting on his nomination.

What is Harry Reid talking about?

The Washington Free Beacon reports that a controversial group said it called the "authorities" after being called upon to release information related to the group itself and Chuck Hagel, who has been nominated to be the next secretary of defense:

CNN reports that the outcome of the Chuck Hagel vote is "uncertain":

As we reported yesterday, a speech that Chuck Hagel failed to include in his Senate disclosure was in fact video taped--and the tape still exists! But the group, the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), that hosted the Hagel speech said it could take until Friday for the video to be…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Bill Kristol, hosted by Michael Graham:

Politico reports:

Fox News reported yesterday that Chuck Hagel, who has been nominated as the next secretary of defense, failed to “disclose at least two recent speeches on the subject of the Arab-Israeli conflict” in paperwork filed with the Senate.

Finally John Warner let Chuck Hagel speak. Warner, having declared that he was discarding his prepared remarks in the interest of sincerity and brevity and then spoken for 15 minutes, turned to Hagel with a friendly warning: “You’re on your own.”

The newly discovered 2008 video of Chuck Hagel has drawn attention, as it should, for his comments dismissing the U.S. even “thinking” about acting militarily against Iran, and for his seeming to be more concerned about Israel's nuclear weapons than Iran's.

This morning on CBS's Face the Nation, Senator Lindsey Graham said he'd place holds on President Obama's national security nominees, Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense and John Brennan for CIA director, until the White House answered questions on the Benghazi terror attack:

At a 2008 event to promote his then-recently published book, Chuck Hagel expresses more concern over Israel's nuclear weapons than Iran's and advocates the U.S. engage with Iran and Syria:

What you see below is a copy of a May 26, 2005 letter from Senators Christopher Dodd and Joe Biden encouraging a no vote on cloture for the nomination of John Bolton. Senate Democrats (including Senators Obama, Biden, Clinton, and Kerry) twice voted en bloc against cloture on the Bolton nomination,…

It can be tempting, if you are not a Washington insider or intimate, to put the Chuck Hagel business out of mind.  Or try, anyway. He did so badly in the confirmation hearings that, as Stephen Hayes writes, “any senator who takes the advise-and-consent role seriously had to have real concerns about…

Senate majority leader Harry Reid helped set the precedent for looking into foreign backers when, in 2002, he demanded that Henry Kissinger reveal the source of his funders before serving on the 9/11 Commission. Kissinger refused to release his own documents, and therefore did not serve on the…

Thomas E. Ricks, who is well-sourced in Democratic national security policy circles, says there's a "50-50" chance Chuck Hagel withdraws from consideration for the secretary of defense job.

There have been requests from U.S. senators that Chuck Hagel, who has been nominated as secretary of defense, reveal what foreign money he's received for work since leaving the Senate four years ago.

The Emergency Committee for Israel has a new ad focusing on the Senate testimony from Barack Obama's defense secretary nominee, Chuck Hagel. "Today the Emergency Committee for Israel released 'Endorsed,' a 30-second TV ad that will begin airing tomorrow in Washington DC and New York," said ECI…

Deb Fischer of Nebraska, the state Chuck Hagel represented for many years, explains her opposition to Hagel as defense secretary:

Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, tells Politico reporter Manu Raju that the committee will not vote on the nomination of Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense on Thursday, as planned:

The New York Post editorializes:

BuzzFeed reports that Chuck Hagel is refusing to detail foreign funders and disclose other necessary financial information to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The editors of Barack Obama's hometown paper, the Chicago Tribune, urge the president to drop the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense. The paper endorsed Obama in two presidential elections.

Chuck Hagel is "the mediocre man," writes Bret Stephens:

The woman who still could be the next defense secretary, Michele Flournoy, has an intelligent op-ed, well worth reading, in today’s Wall Street Journal, on "The Right Way to Cut Pentagon Spending." If we're to have a defense secretary who acquiesces in cutting defense (and we will while Barack…

The Emergency Committee for Israel has released a new ad called "confusion," which highlights Chuck Hagel's rocky performance in last week's Senate hearing:

Dorothy Rabinowitz writes: 

The top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, said over the weekend that opposition to the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense is "intensifying." The second highest ranking Republican in the Senate, John Cornyn of Texas, has been leading the charge against Hagel.

Chuck Hagel, who has been nominated by President Obama to be the secretary of defense, does not understand the defense budget. Gary Schmitt explains:

Senator Dan Coats delivered these remarks on the floor of the Senate in opposition to Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense:

In a statement to the press, Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois opposes the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense:

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Fred Barnes hosted by Michael Graham:

Vietnam veteran and ex-Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Isolation) made a stunning impression in his audition for the role of secretary of defense yesterday, though it was not quite the one that he wished. "Though he was being asked about things he had said over the course of the past 15 years, it was what…

An advisor to President Obama describes Chuck Hagel's hearing as, "somewhere between baffling and incomprehensible." The advisor made the comment to the New York Times.

On October 3, 2005, President George W. Bush announced his intention to nominate his White House counsel, Harriet Miers, to succeed Sandra Day O’Connor as an associate justice of the Supreme Court. On October 27, after vigorous statements of opposition from conservatives and quiet expressions of…

After yesterday's nomination hearing of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense, CBS's Bob Schieffer says, "I think his nomination may be in trouble."

Texas senator Ted Cruz, writing in Politico:

Chuck Hagel, Barack Obama's nominee to head the defense department, said in his confirmation hearing Thursday that he doesn't "know much" about military programs and technology. "I've said I don't know enough about it," Hagel said, in a response to Maine senator Angus King. "There are a lot of…

It's been a rough Thursday for former Republican senator Chuck Hagel, and lawmakers from both parties seem to recognize it. Members of the Senate's armed services committee say they are "shocked at how ill-prepared" Hagel was for his hearing to be confirmed as defense secretary. Dana Bash from CNN…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Steve Hayes hosted by Michael Graham:

Chuck Hagel inexplicably stated at his hearing this morning that Iran's government is "elected, legitimate":

Florida senator Marco Rubio says that he will oppose the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense:

Senator Jim Inhofe asked Chuck Hagel why the Iranians had endorsed his nomination for secretary of defense:

The Republican National Committee has sent out this background brief titled, "Chuck Hagel Is The Wrong Choice For Secretary Of Defense." 

With Chuck Hagel's Senate confirmation hearing scheduled for later today, it's worth reviewing a small sampling of the greatest hits of President Obama's defense secretary nominee:

Lee Smith writes:

Texas senator John Cornyn explains "The Case against Chuck Hagel":

As Politico reported Tuesday, former Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel was paid $120,000 in 2012 to work as a "senior adviser" to Gallup, the Omaha-based polling and research firm. Gallup won't explain what services or expertise Hagel actually provided.

President Barack Obama's secretary of defense nominee, Chuck Hagel, said that Israel keeps "Palestinians caged up like animals." He made the remarks in 2003. 

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina pledged last night on Fox News to block President Obama's secretary of defense nominee, Chuck Hagel, until Leon Panetta testifies on the Benghazi terror attack:

Christians United for Israel is bringing 400 leaders to Washington to lobby against Chuck Hagel, President Obama's nominee to be the next secretary of defense. CUFI, the largest pro-Israel organization in America, announces in a press release: 

THE WEEKLY STANDARD previously noted Senator David Vitter’s offense at Chuck Hagel’s “suggestion that my support of Israel is somehow contrary to my Constitutional oath.” Here’s Vitter’s full letter, laying out that concern and many others: 

Much of the opposition to President Obama’s choice of former Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel to become secretary of defense has focused on his apparent hostility to Israel and his seeming indifference to a nuclear-armed Iran. As serious as these issues are, Hagel’s Senate confirmation ought also to…

New Jersey senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat, said on ABC this morning that he is "concerned" about Chuck Hagel's views of Iran sanctions:

In a sharply worded letter to Chuck Hagel, President Obama's nominee to be the next secretary of defense, Senator David Vitter of Louisiana takes issue with Hagel's past statement that “The Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here…. I’m not an Israeli senator. I’m a United States senator.”…

Breitbart.com reports:

The Wall Street Journal editorializes:

Jen Rubin, writing about the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense:

Robert Satloff writes:

Former senator Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee to be the next secretary of defense, has drawn sharp criticism for championing even deeper cuts to military spending, making statements hostile or indifferent to Israel, denigrating pro-Israel groups in the United States as “the Jewish lobby,”…

Alexander Burns reports:

Roger Wicker, a senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is "deeply concerned" that Chuck Hagel's "views on Iran sanctions have changed multiple times based on public reaction and criticism of his record."

Senator James Inhofe, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Service Committee, released this statement in opposition to Chuck Hagel's nomination as secretary of defense:

In a private meeting Monday—not just any old private meeting, but a 90 minutes long private meeting!—New York senator Chuck Schumer was reassured by secretary of defense nominee Chuck Hagel that he didn't mean the many things he's said over the years and didn't stand by the many votes he's cast…

Former Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel is President Obama’s nominee for secretary of defense. Much has already been said about the pros and cons of the nomination, and much more will be said during confirmation hearings in the Senate. Here is one possible line of questioning: given the centrality of…

Roger Wicker, a senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, writes in Politico:

Writers for the Atlantic and Huffington Post have been teaming up with Chas Freeman to attack critics of Chuck Hagel, the man President Barack Obama has nominated as secretary of defense. The Washington Free Beacon reports:

Yesterday, David Gregory asked Colin Powell about Chuck Hagel's remark that "the Jewish lobby" intimidates a lot of people on Capitol HIll. "What kind of thinking does that reflect? Can you understand pro-Israel senators being concerned by that comment?"

An interesting moment on Sunday, when Colin Powell was on Meet the Press to defend Chuck Hagel, but would not stand up for the man nominated to be the next defense secretary:

Senator Bob Corker had questions about Chuck Hagel's temperament this morning:

Democratic senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he has "serious questions" about Chuck Hagel, who has been nominated as secretary of defense:

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Bill Kristol, hosted by Michael Graham:

The Washington Free Beacon reports:

Former secretary of state Colin Powell, who served through George W. Bush's first term, will appear on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, January 13, to reportedly make the case for Chuck Hagel to head the defense department. Powell has been critical of Republicans in recent years and made…

Charles Krauthammer writes: 

In December, the Obama administration acted on intelligence showing that Bashar al-Assad was preparing to use chemical weapons against his own people. Obama publicly warned the Syrian president and, according to the New York Times, “private messages sent to Assad and his military commanders through…

The number two Republican in the Senate, John Cornyn, explains in an opinion piece why he is unable to support Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense:

Eli Lake reports:

This clip from an appearance on Al Jazeera seems to suggest that Chuck Hagel, President Obama's nominee for secretary of defense, believes America is "the world's bully":

The New York Observer comes out against Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense:

Rachel Maddow hammered President Obama's nominee to run the Defense Department, Chuck Hagel, last night on MSNBC:

In today’s New York Times, David Brooks argues persuasively that Chuck Hagel has been nominated to help Barack Obama dramatically cut defense spending.

Concerned Veterans for America released the following statement, from chief Pete Hegseth, in opposition to the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense:

Democratic senator Ben Cardin invoked South African apartheid in attacking Chuck Hagel's opposition to Iran sanctions on MSNBC earlier today:

The New York Sun writes:

Senator Ben Cardin today again said he had questions for Chuck Hagel, who has been nominated as secretary of defense:

Jonah Goldberg writes:

CBS reports:

What should the United States do about Iran? 

Former New York City mayor Ed Koch, who supported President Obama's reelection, says the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense will be a test for Senator Chuck Schumer:

The pro-Chuck Hagel forces, having failed to pick up momentum from the president's announcement today, seem to be getting desperate. Why else would the following bombshell magically appear on BuzzFeed's website?

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Bill Kristol, hosted by Michael Graham:

Ohio senator Rob Portman, a Republican, expressed his disappointment in President Obama choosing Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense in a statement released to the press:

Marco Rubio is worried about Chuck Hagel's Cuba policy, according to the Florida senator's office.

House majority leader Eric Cantor blasts the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense in a statement: 

Here's an exchange from MSNBC this morning between Steve Clemons, a close friend and ardent supporter of Chuck Hagel, and Dan Senor:

The Emergency Committee for Israel sends out the following press release:

Mississippi senator Roger Wicker, a Republican, released this statement, opposing Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense:

NBC's Chuck Todd reported this morning that "as many as 10 Democratic senators could vote against Hagel":

Democratic senator Ben Cardin said this morning that he has serious "questions" about Chuck Hagel, who today will be nominated to be the next secretary of defense:

During the hearings on Chuck Hagel’s nomination to be secretary of defense, it’s clear that the views of gay rights organizations will be heard. There the issue seems to be whether Hagel’s apology for previous remarks and beliefs was sincere, or motivated solely by self-interest. He had years to…

Jen Rubin, writing for the Washington Post:

ABC's Jonathan Karl reported this morning that there is not enough Democratic support in the Senate right now to confirm Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense:

Senator Ted Cruz took a strong stand against Chuck Hagel on Fox News Sunday this morning:

South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham explains his concern over Chuck Hagel as the next secretary of defense:

Chuck Hagel, the president's rumored pick to be the next secretary of defense, predicted that the U.S. military would be destroyed because of the war in Iraq. As CNS reported in 2008, when Hagel was a senator from Nebraska:

In a post yesterday waxing enthusiastic about Chuck Hagel as defense secretary, Michael Moore called attention to a statement of Hagel that I don't believe had been previously much noted. Here it is, from September 2007:

CNN, reporting on the possibility that President Barack Obama will nominate Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense, said that the former senator has "been against sanction for iran ... and for talking to Hamas." Watch here:

Senator John Cornyn, the number two Republican in the Senate, spoke bluntly about Chuck Hagel, the man who President Barack Obama is said to be naming as the next secretary of defense.

A pro-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender group issued a statement today urging President Barack Obama not to nominate Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense.

The idea of former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska succeeding Leon Panetta at the Pentagon is, as the fictional king of Siam once put it, a puzzlement. Friends of Israel are up in arms at the prospect, but Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times thinks he's just the sort of contrarian…

The Washington Free Beacon reports:

In the three weeks since Chuck Hagel’s name emerged as President Barack Obama’s likely choice as the next secretary of defense, there's been a lively, if lopsided, debate about his qualifications for the job. The debate’s been lopsided because the arguments for Hagel have been so startlingly…

Chuck Todd said this morning he believes the Obama administration will "yank" the possible nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense:

The Washington Free Beacon reports:

BuzzFeed reports:

Senator Tom Coburn said Sunday that he would not vote for Chuck Hagel to be the next secretary of defense:

Senator Lindsey Graham said on Fox today that Chuck Hagel has "very little Republican support" to be the next secretary of defense:

Here's a fact sheet circulating Capitol Hill, and in high level Democratic circles, which rounds up how people and organizations are reacting to the rumors that Chuck Hagel will be nominated as the next secretary of defense: 

Ed Koch, a prominent backer of President Barack Obama, blasts Tom Friedman for endorsing Chuck Hagel as the next secretary of state:

The largest pro-Israel group in the nation, Christians United for Israel, says that "More than 17,000 people have responded to a Christians United for Israel (CUFI) action alert launched yesterday asking individuals to email their Senators in opposition to the potential nomination of former Senator…

The surprising thing about the slew of supposedly "pro-Hagel" pieces—articles that at first blush would seem to say that Chuck Hagel should be the next secretary of defense—is that none actually make the case for Hagel.

Log Cabin Republicans has taken out a full page ad in the New York Times to oppose the nomination of Chuck Hagel as the next secretary of defense:

In an odd column in Wednesday's New York Times, Tom Friedman praises Chuck Hagel. Friedman doesn't actually praise anything Hagel has ever said or done. He never quotes Hagel nor cites any of Hagel's votes. Indeed, Friedman acknowledges Hagel is "out of the mainstream" on national security issues…

Pete Hegseth, an Iraq war veteran and the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, explains that Chuck Hagel is the "wrong pick at the wrong time" to lead the Defense Department:

Tom Cotton, the war veteran and congressman elect from Arkansas's Fourth Congressional District, explained on Fox News that Chuck Hagel is the wrong man for the defense secretary job:

Kirsten Powers revealed on Fox News that Chuck Hagel is "not popular with Democrats":

Joe Lieberman said on CNN yesterday that, if Chuck Hagel is nominated as the next secretary of defense, "will be a very tough confirmation process":

Andrea Mitchell said on NBC this morning that there are "serious problems" with Chuck Hagel, who is rumored to be nominated as secretary of defense:

New York senator Chuck Hagel would not commit to supporting Chuck Hagel, if President Obama nominates him to be the next secretary of defense:

Josh Rogin reports:

Texas senator John Cornyn would oppose the nomination of Chuck Hagel to be the next secretary of defense. The Washington Post reports:

MSNBC reports that President Barack Obama's originally wanted to name his entire national security team today. Instead, he's just announcing his pick for secretary of state, John Kerry.