Josh Hawley Overrules Joe Biden: “I will not consent to the nomination of any nominee for the Department of Defense or for the Department of State until Secretary Austin and Secretary Blinken and Jake Sullivan resign”
Senator Josh Hawley has seen enough with the bungling in the Biden administration and is drawing a line in the sand. Hawley, after witnessing the disastrous Kabul withdrawal, is putting a personal hold on any more of Biden’s nominations to the Dept. of Defense.
At least, he said, until heads roll in the Biden administration. Specifically, he wants Lloyd Austin and Tony Blinken to step down, but after Woodard’s book excerpt, he should add Milley as well.
He said: “I will not consent to the nomination of any nominee for the Department of Defense or for the Department of State until Secretary Austin and Secretary Blinken and Jake Sullivan resign.”
“This president is a disgrace. His behavior is disgraceful. He has dishonored this country with his shameful leadership in this crisis and it is time for him to resign.”
From Forbes:
Hawley said in a floor speech he will object to confirming nominees for State Department and Defense Department posts by unanimous consent unless Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan resign.
Hawley said the three officials should “take responsibility for their failures,” pointing to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members in an attack in Kabul last month, and the fact that some Americans remained in the country when U.S. troops pulled out.
While the tactic wouldn’t be enough to block nominees who have support from a majority of senators, it would force multiple votes to confirm each one rather than allowing them to be swiftly confirmed by voice votes, exacerbating a logjam of confirmation votes.
Hawley told CNN his plans extend to “every single civilian nominee” at the departments, as well as ambassadors, compounding headaches for the White House, which has already expressed frustration at the Senate’s slow pace in confirming ambassadors.
Sen. Josh Hawley: "This president is a disgrace. His behavior is disgraceful. He has dishonored this country with his shameful leadership in this crisis and it is time for him to resign." pic.twitter.com/u40qpDWLqq
— The Hill (@thehill) September 14, 2021
Sen. Hawley throws up blockade: “I will not consent to the nomination of any nominee for the Department of Defense or for the Department of State until Secretary Austin and Secretary Blinken and Jake Sullivan resign”
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) September 14, 2021
Hawley says he won’t consent to DoD or State noms until blinken, Austin and Sullivan resign.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) September 14, 2021