The Senate will hold a cloture vote on the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense at 4:15pm ET on Thursday, Majority Leader Harry Reid announced. The move would end debate and move to a final vote on confirmation.
Several Republican senators, including Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), said they plan to vote against cloture this week in order to allow more time to review Hagel’s record. They indicated that they would move to end debate, even if ultimately opposed to Hagel, after the Senate returns from the 10-day Presidents’ Day recess.
