In a stunning admission, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, as well as the White House and Secretary of State John Kerry, announced today that the U.S. intelligence services have evidence that chemical weapons have been used in the Syrian civil war
The U.S. is deploying a new missile defense system in Guam to protect American forces from any potential North Korean attacks. It's the latest move in the ongoing chess battle between the Western powers and North Korea, and Chuck Hagel promises he's takings "seriously." But is he, really?
The land once governed by Sarah Palin may yet yield more riches: protection from North Korea's likely nonexistent nuclear missiles. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced on Friday that the Pentagon is adding 14 missile-interceptors to Alaska's Fort Greely base at the cost of about $1 billion, pending Congressional approval.
An attack at a police station in Afghanistan's Wardak province that reportedly killed two American soldiers is only the most recent challenge faced by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel as he visits the country — including accusations that the U.S. is conspiring with the Taliban.
Chuck Hagel's first visit to Afghanistan as Defense Secretary got off to a scary start as two separate suicide bomb attacks greeted him. One targeted Afghanistan's Defense Ministry, but, thankfully, Hagel was nowhere near the building at the time.
Dana Milbank on Hagel's confirmation, Sheila Bair on why the GOP should care about income inequality, Richard Karlgaard on Wal-Mart's dipping sales, Simon Jenkins on Europe's resurgent populism, and Mathew Ingram on new anti-piracy rules.
The Senate got their successful cloture vote on Tuesday afternoon, finishing the filibuster of Chuck Hagel's nomination to be Secretary of Defense — and clearing the way for a successful vote on his confirmation, 58-41.
Chuck Hagel will likely get confirmed as secretary of Defense on Tuesday, with deep cuts to the Pentagon's budget set to hit three days later.
Ted Cruz was so aggressive during Chuck Hagel's confirmation hearing that he was reprimanded by fellow Republicans. After it was revealed Cruz sees communists everywhere, the Texas Republican made a defense inspired by his recent foe.
The New Yorker reports that the freshman Senator claimed there were 12 communists actively plotting against the government at Harvard Law School when he was a student there. But Harvard (and Chuck Hagel) shouldn't feel singled out — Ted Cruz sees anti-American plotters all over the place.
There are enough votes in the Senate to confirm Chuck Hagel as Defense Secretary, the Associated Press' Donna Cassata reports, signaling an end to a loud fight that that always seemed a little fake.
Is there a way to calm Republican obsession with the attacks in Libya? If so, the Daily Show host hasn't found one.
Hear that rumor that Chuck Hagel accepted money from a group calling itself "Friends of Hamas"? It's false, and here's how a New York Daily News reporter is speaking out a lot more than the Breitbart reporter who sent it into the conservative slipstream.
Daniel Larison on Republicans holding up Hagel, Ruth Marcus on Ted Cruz, Geoffrey Till on Asia's "arms race," Paula Dwyer on merger mania, and William Finnegan on the GOP's immigration fix.
Republican senators filibustered Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel on Thursday (though they'd rather you didn't call it that) for one reason, but they're hoping the delay gives them enough time to find another reason to block his nomination.
The cloture vote failed, 58-40-1, to move Hagel's confirmation forward and end the filibuster. A new vote will be set for after Senate recess, likely either on February 25 or 26.
Growing unease about Chuck Hagel as Pentagon chief could lead Republicans to force the nomination to clear a 60-vote threshold on the Senate floor, lawmakers said Tuesday.
Despite continuing objections from Republican holdouts, the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a panel discussion and vote on Chuck Hagel's nomination to become the next Defense Secretary on Tuesday afternoon.
Democratic Senator Carl Levin announced the Senate Armed Service Committee will not be taking Hagel's confirmation vote to the Senate floor on Thursday. When they do get around to voting on his confirmation, what are his real chances of him getting nixed? Math time!
Chuck Hagel's confirmation hearing to become the next Secretary of Defense did not go well, but if he fails to get the job, it won't be because of some deeply held foreign-policy principle. And the best evidence rests with one man: John McCain.
Jonathan Tobin on how Hagel blew it, Chris Cillizza on why Hagel will still get confirmed, Flynt and Hillary Leverett on the need to accept Iranian power, Paul Krugman on the search for austerity successes, and Ron Fournier on covering Hillary.
Sen. John McCain wanted one thing from his aggressive questioning of his former friend Chuck Hagel at his confirmation hearing Thursday: for Hagel to admit that McCain had been right about the Iraq surge. He did not get what he wanted.
After nearly eight hours of testimony, former senator Chuck Hagel got up and walked away from two extended sessions before the Senate Armed Service Committee. It was not an easy day.
Washington could see the most contentious confirmation hearing of Barack Obama's presidency, as former Senator Chuck Hagel fights for his chance to be the next Secretary of Defense.
Bob Woodward on why Obama chose Hagel, Paul Krugman on so-called takers, William Lloyd George on Eritrea's teetering dictatorship, Gordon Chang on Chinese air, and Albert Hunt on Republicans' electoral vote shuffle.
The ads resemble the opening credits of a Hollywood spy movie, but how effective are they going to be when it comes to public opinion ahead of next week's confirmation hearings? And how much truth is there in the new advertising?
The confirmation hearing is now scheduled to begin on January 31, and the concrete date should hasten the efforts of Hagel's most vociferous critics, who haven't really backed down,
Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer was hyped as the biggest obstacle to Chuck Hagel becoming Secretary of Defense, but Schumer has officially backed Hagel, CNN's Dana Bash reports after Schumer recieved "reassurances" about Iran and Israel during a 90-minute meeting on Monday.
Antonio Villaraigosa on immigration reform, George Packer on Southern Republicans, Jennifer Welsh on France's intervention in Mali, Chris Cillizza on the Senate losing its lions, and Gary Younge on Obama's Iraq amnesia.
It's looking like the biggest obstacle to Chuck Hagel's confirmation as Secretary of Defense is not Republican opposition, but Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer.
Republicans trying to raise a case against confirming Chuck Hagel have cited not so kind remarks regarding Israel as a reason not to confirm, but that could be a tougher sell now that Israel's departing Deputy Foreign Minister thinks Hagel is an alright guy.
Right now, the White House press corps has been wondering — as it should! — whether, President Obama nominated three white guys to his cabinet, women are being shut out of the Oval Office. But, if we're going to look at photos, we can't help but notice that another Oval Office crew has a nearly all-male look: the White House press corps.
The group's recent ads attacking Obama's Secretary of Defense nominee are internally divisive, leaving some advocates to call the turn of events "surreal."
Former presidential candidate and former Senator Rick Santorum is launching an all-out drive to deny his former colleague Chuck Hagel a new job as Secretary of Defense, despite not having any actual power to do so.
There are several key differences between President Obama's cabinet picks in 2009 and in 2013. This term there are more longtime Obama allies. This term he's showing more "confidence in his choices," picking fights with Republicans. And this term he's picking a lot of white males.
Chuck Hagel's battlefield experience from the Vietnam war should come in handy as he faces a pitched battle with Republican senators in his confirmation hearings to become the next Secretary of Defense. Just kidding, a Washington war is actually nothing like a real war.
David Brooks on Chuck Hagel, Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly on guns, Ramesh Ponnuru on the debt ceiling, Simon Tisdall on Syria, and Michael Specter on genetically modified crops.
In a sign of his full-on awareness of the wave of criticism already trailing former Senator Chuck Hagel, President Obama nominated his next Secretary of Defense with a simple defense Monday afternoon: Hagel's top qualification? He's a Vietnam vet.
President Obama nominated former Hagel as his next Secretary of Defense Monday afternoon, urging the Senate to "act on these nominations promptly," but the conservatives behind ChuckHagel.com were already acting on promoting their dark vision of a Hagel Pentagon
There has been a lot of political coverage this morning about the gathering opposition to President Obama's nomination of Chuck Hagel to be Secretary of Defense. But what there hasn't been a lot of is people saying on the record that they oppose his nomination.
Peter Beinart on Chuck Hagel, Doyle McManus on John Boehner, Chris Cillizza on Washington's bargaining problem, Kostas Vaxevanis on Greek oligarchs, and Mark Buchanan on inequality and crime.
After John Kerry was appointed Secretary of State, the worst kept secret surrounding Obama's new cabinet has been Chuck Hagel's appointment to Secretary of Defense. It's coming now, for certain, on Monday.
After weeks of speculation and before weeks of heated partisan bickering over his appointee's controversial record, President Obama will nominate former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense "as early as Monday."
Jonathan Cohn on Starbucks and the fiscal cliff, Jacob Sullum on Adam Lanza and mental health, James Bessel on Chuck Hagel and Israel, Leonid Bershidsky on the new cold war, and William H. Janeway on American-made startups.
The suddenly embattled former Nebraska senator's foes have planted enough doubt to make the confirmation process tenuous, maybe even impossible. It's "fair" to say Obama is now looking at other candidates, National Journal reports. Which ones?
National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre made his first public comments since his Friday press conference that wasn't well received. Despite David Gregory's best efforts, he didn't back down from a single point.
The latest storm centers on the would-be Secretary of Defense's comments about would-be ambassador James Hormel 15 years ago — criticism substantive enough that Hagel is now walking it back.
The trio of senators who led the months-long wave of criticism against U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice are suddenly focusing their attention on Obama's potential pick for Secretary of Defense.
If Chuck Hagel is going to be the next Secretary of Defense, a newly surfaced comment could ignite a confirmation battle already full of divisiveness — and now with semi-fresh details about his already controversial positions on Israel.
Max Fisher on Chuck Hagel, Roger Cohen on oil, Simon Jenkins on North Korea, Jeffrey Goldberg on Australia, and Palav Babaria on Obamacare.
Former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel is "likely" to be named the next Secretary of Defense by President Obama, Bloomberg is now reporting. Here's what to expect out of him.
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