MSNBC Guest: GOP’s Plan To Filibuster Chuck Hagel ‘At Odds With The Constitution’
On Thursday, Philadelphia-based radio host Michael Smerconish slammed Congressional Republican’s plans to filibuster President Barack Obama’s nominee to become the next Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel. Smerconish told MSNBC anchor Tamron Hall on Thursday that he was not entirely certain that the GOP’s plan to filibuster the president’s Cabinet nominee was even constitutional.
RELATED: Hagel Approved By Senate Panel In Narrow 14-11 Party-Line Vote
Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska, was narrowly approved by a Senate committee after a rocky confirmation hearing process which members of both parties said was disappointing. Some Republicans in Congress are planning to do their best to block Hagel’s approval and may even mount a filibuster of the nomination.
Hall asked Smerconish if he thought that the GOP’s plan to filibuster Hagel is a result of his opposition to the Iraq surge in 2006-2007. “I don’t think it’s payback for the surge,” Smerconish said, “I think it’s payback for the fact that this is a Republican willing to serve in a Democratic administration.”
“No matter what you call this, filibuster or otherwise, Tamron, I think it’s at odds with the Constitution,” Smerconish added. “I think it’s at odds with the advice and consent language of the Constitution.”
“The Constitution says that President Obama gets to pick his team except in extraordinary circumstances, and extraordinary circumstances aren’t met here,” Smerconish continued. He said that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) once praised Hagel and considered him as a potential cabinet member if he had won the 2008 presidential election. “What has changed? Not enough to warrant this,” Smerconish concluded.
Watch the clip below via MSNBC:
