McHugh on hold in the US Senate
The US Senate left last week for its August recess without confirming one of Obama’s top nominees for the Defense Department. Republican Congressman from upstate New York John McHugh has been nominated to be the Secretary of the Army, but his party affiliation has not stopped some of his fellow Republicans from blocking his nomination because of grandstanding over the closing of Guantanamo. The two senators from Kansas have placed holds on a number of Obama’s nominations over the issue of transferring foreign suspects to Fort Leavenworth.
Other Senate sources familiar with the stalled nomination said some Republican senators simply wanted to show they are unhappy with McHugh, a Republican, going to work for the Democratic administration.
McHugh declined to discuss his predicament at the end of the week. But that didn’t stop Defense Secretary Robert Gates from voicing his displeasure.
“Secretary Gates is deeply disappointed that in a time of war the confirmation of the secretary of the Army and the undersecretary has now been delayed, at least a month, because of parochial issues,” Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told The Post-Standard.
Coincidentally, today the Democratic party chairmen from 11 counties will be choosing their candidate to run for the 23rd district in the upcoming special election (whenever it eventually happens).
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