Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in Australia on Sunday that he would like to see Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repealed in the lame duck session of Congress.
Asked if he saw any prospect for repeal of the policy in the lame duck, Gates replied, “I would like to see the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, but I’m not sure what the prospects for that are and we’ll just have to see.”
The prospects aren’t great. President Obama has said he wants to repeal the policy this year, likely after the Pentagon’s policy review is released Dec. 1.
But, as the Wall Street Journal reported today, the top two members on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Carl Levin and Sen. John McCain, have been in talks to strip DADT repeal from the National Defense Authorization bill.
McCain, who said in the past that he would be open to repeal if it was OK’d by the military’s top brass, has instead become one of the most vocal opponents of repeal, vowing to block the defense spending bill if it includes DADT.
Even just logistically, the legislation faces the ultimate obstacle of time. The Senate has no small amount of legislation to pass in the brief lame duck session, including extending the Bush tax cuts and ratifying the START treaty.
