Senators playing politics with Department of Defense

Military suicides up, attempted suicides up, troops in Afghanistan and the list goes on but some Senators think their political games matter more than the troops. So much for being about "supporting the military" when it really counts.

Republicans filibuster Hagel’s nomination
DOD Buzz
By Michael Hoffman and Bryant Jordan
February 14th, 2013

Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel will have to wait at least another week before the Senate votes on his nomination.

The Republicans launched a filibuster against the former Republican two-term senator from Nebraska by voting to continue the debate over President Obama’s nomination to name Hagel the next secretary of defense. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called for a cloture vote at 4:15 p.m. EST on Thursday in which 60 votes were needed to end debate and vote on the nomination.

Only 58 senators voted in support of the cloture meaning debate will continue. The Democrat majority voted in favor of the cloture, but could only find four Republicans to vote against the filibuster. In a procedural move, Reid switched his vote against the cloture once the Democrats realized they did not have the votes needed to block the filibuster.
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