McCain Vs Trump
McCain threatens to block Trump's Pentagon nominee
Sen.
John McCain, R-Ariz., questions former FBI Director James Comey during a
Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Thursday, June
8, 2017, in Washington.
Story highlights
- McCain accused Patrick Shanahan of ducking questions
- McCain threatened to not take your up Shanahan's name for a vote
(CNN)Senate
armed services committee Chairman John McCain threatened Tuesday to
block President Donald Trump's deputy defense secretary nominee.
McCain
charged that Boeing executive Patrick Shanahan was ducking questions
during his confirmation hearing, particularly over his response in a
written statement that he would look into providing military assistance
to Ukraine.
"Inexplicably,
you responded by saying you'd have to look at the issue," McCain said
at Tuesday's hearing. "It's not satisfactory. Mr. Shanahan."
Shanahan
responded by telling McCain that he did support providing lethal
defensive weapons to Ukraine, but that did not satisfy the Arizona
Republican.
"Not a good
beginning. Do not do that again Mr. Shanahan, or I will not take your
name up for a vote before this committee. Am I perfectly clear?" McCain
said.
"Very clear," Shanahan responded.
In
a questionnaire submitted to the committee Shanahan argued he needed to
look at the issue more closely when confirmed because he did not have
access to classified information.
"The
provision of lethal defensive equipment as part of our already robust
security assistance program is an option I plan to look at closely if I
am confirmed," he wrote. "I do not have access to classified assessments
of the performance of the Ukrainian and Russian militaries in the
course of the conflict, and particularly the impact of the security
assistance we have provided thus far. I plan to examine this issue
closely."
When McCain
moved on to other senators, things didn't improve for Shanahan, as the
Arizona senator complained again after Nebraska Republican Sen. Deb
Fischer finished her questions.
"Mr.
Shanahan, you're not making me happy," McCain said. "I'm not going to
sit here and watch you duck every question and expect that everything is
going to go smoothly. It's not."
The
resistance from McCain is the latest sign of trouble for Defense
Secretary Jim Mattis' Pentagon as it attempts to staff up. McCain has
complained that the Pentagon has been slow to propose nominees, urging
them to send them to the committee so he can confirm them.
But
McCain is known to get upset from time to time at confirmation
hearings. When former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey was up
for re-nomination in 2013, McCain briefly threatened to hold up his
confirmation before relenting.
On
Tuesday, McCain also took issue with Shanahan's experience as a former
Boeing executive, saying he wasn't thrilled about having someone who
came from one of the "big five" defense contractors taking over as the
No. 2 at the Pentagon.
"You
have been associated for the last I don't know how many years with one
of the five corporations that provide 90% of the defensive weaponry, the
weaponry to defend this nation," McCain said. "And your answer was well
I'd have to look at the issue. That's not good enough Mr. Shanahan."
McCain
has a long history of clashing with Boeing, from his investigative
efforts over the company's tanker deal with the Air Force more than a
decade ago that ultimately sent Boeing executives to prison to his
recent fights over Boeing's United Launch Alliance venture that uses
Russian-made rocket engines.
At
the conclusion of the hearing, McCain said told Shanahan to go back
over his questionnaire and resubmit his answers, and that would
determine what he did with the nomination.
He
also sent a message up the chain of command to Defense Secretary Jim
Mattis and the White House that he was not happy with the lack of
information they were providing to Congress about actions in
Afghanistan, Syria and elsewhere.
"I
want to work with this administration, I want to work with this
President, work with new secretary of defense, who I happen to be one of
the most ardent admirers of," McCain said. "But I have to tell you in a
couple of weeks were going to mark up the defense authorization bill.
The President has two choices, give us a strategy, or we will put a
strategy that we develop into the defense authorization bill. ... I want
to give the secretary of defense the team he needs, but I'm not going
to give him a team that I think is business as usual over the last eight
years."
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