Hagel set to be confirmed

Richard “Hi, I’m Dick Shelby and I’m holding a fundraiser” Shelby has announced that he will vote to confirm Chuck Hagel. He becomes, effectively, the 60th vote in favor of cloture, with more to follow.

Shelby explained that Hagel is “probably as good as we’re going to get” as Secretary of Defense. He’s probably the only Senator who believes this, assuming he does. Perhaps he missed Hagel’s confirmation hearings because he was planning a fundraiser.

Earlier today, I touted legislation that would provide the various federal departments and agencies with the power to prioritize where cuts made pursuant to the sequester will be made within their organization. In light of Hagel’s impending confirmation, however, I wonder whether the legislation should carve out the Department of Defense. It’s possible that America would be better off with indiscriminate cuts to that organization than with cuts that result from the “discretion” of the village idiot of Washington, D.C.

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