Chuck Hagel’s nomination as secretary of defense may well be decided by his sitdown this week with New York’s own Sen. Chuck Schumer.
So: Will Schumer stand up to Hagel, whose views on Israel and Iranian nukes are antithetical to his own? Or will he let President Obama’s pick “clarify” his stands with half-hearted excuses and apologies?
Make no mistake: Had a GOP president named Hagel to the Pentagon, Chuck Schumer would be leading the charge against him — and rightly so.
Hagel, after all, opposes unilateral sanctions to deter Iran from nuclear weapons and refuses to even consider military force.
Indeed, he seems to back a policy of containment that would let Iran acquire nukes — putting him at odds not only with Schumer, but also Obama, who’s said, “A nuclear-armed Iran is not a challenge that can be contained.”
Hagel has been notoriously critical of Israel, favors direct US talks with Hamas (which, along with Hezbollah, he refuses to brand a terrorist group) and has railed against “the Jewish lobby.”
In other words, not exactly a choice that Schumer — who talks of the “need to be guardians of America and its strongest ally, Israel” — would usually be inclined to back. Indeed, ex-Mayor Ed Koch even says that Obama, in tapping Hagel, has “reneged” on “what he conveyed” during the campaign about supporting Israel.
But Schumer, the Senate’s No. 3 Democrat, wants to be majority leader. And bucking a popular president from your own party is no way to win that prize.
If Schumer turns thumbs down on Hagel, it would give cover to other Democrats who also have reservations, perhaps killing the bid. If not, he could help the nomination prevail.
Which Chuck Schumer will stand up at that meeting: the defender of Israel and hardliner on Iran — or the ambitious future majority leader?
There’s much more riding on the outcome than just a Cabinet nomination.