Sen. John McCain said he will not flex his political muscle to stop President Barack Obama’s nomination of Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense.
“No,’’ McCain answered
when asked by CNN if he planned to block Hagel’s nomination in the Senate.
McCain also said he will not block the nomination of John Brennan to head the Central Intelligence Agency.
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But the Arizona Republican, who has the power to prevent the nominations from advancing to the floor, said he has several questions to pose to both candidates.
"There will be a number of questions about [Hagel’s] view of America's role in the world, about Iraq, about Afghanistan, about Iran, the threat of Iran," McCain told CNN.
He said he had concerns over Hagel's remark that the surge in Iraq would be the “greatest blunder since the Vietnam War, which is clearly a bizarre statement."
Both McCain and Hagel, a former Nebraska senator, are veterans of the Vietnam War and have been political allies in the past.
McCain helped Hagel in his first campaign for the U.S. Senate and Hagel was the national co-chairman of Hagel’s 2000 presidential bid.
"The friendship, I hope, is still there," McCain said on CNN’s "The Situation Room.’’
"I respect, admire, and call him a friend, but I have very serious questions about whether he will serve in the way that I think serves America's best national interests."
On CBS' "Face the Nation," McCain said that if asked today, he would not vote against Hagel, "nor would I vote for him."
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