Sen. Cochran becomes first Republican to back Hagel to lead Pentagon

Sen. Thad Cochran (Miss.) on Wednesday became the first Republican to cross
party lines and back former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), President Obama’s pick to be the next Defense secretary.

A Cochran spokesman confirmed that the Mississippi senator has decided to
endorse Hagel, who will testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on
Thursday.

{mosads}Gaining the support of Cochran further boosts Hagel’s
chances of winning confirmation and succeeding Defense Secretary Leon Panetta at
the Pentagon.

A dozen Democratic senators have said they will support
Hagel, and no Democrats have come out against him, although many have raised
some concerns about his selection.

If no Democrats vote against Hagel, then only four more GOP senators would be needed to stop a filibuster attempt, something Republicans have not
yet indicated they would attempt.

Six GOP senators have said they will vote against Hagel’s
confirmation, and several others have come close to saying they’re opposed.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) — who has been critical of
Hagel but stopped short of saying he’d vote against him — threatened to place a
hold on the confirmation this week unless Panetta testifies before the Senate
Armed Services Committee on last year’s attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Cochran, who is the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations
Committee, as well as the Defense subcommittee, held a one-on-one meeting with
Hagel in the lead-up to his confirmation.

Cochran had hinted that he might support Hagel in an
interview with the Omaha World-Herald earlier this month. “Chuck’s one of
my best friends,” he said.