JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — President Joe Biden’s administration criticized U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley on Wednesday for delaying the confirmations of several Department of Defense officials.
“Senator Hawley has held up these pending Department of Defense nominees for too long and for no other reason than politics,” Chris Meagher, deputy press secretary for the White House, told the Post-Dispatch in a statement.
“These nominees are well-qualified to do these important national security jobs,” he said. “It’s important his obstruction stop so these nominees can get to work protecting our country.”
The White House characterized Hawley’s action as “unprecedented.”
Hawley, a Missouri Republican elected in 2018, said last year he would hold up nominees to the Department of Defense and State Department after the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, unless three top administration officials resigned, the Kansas City Star reported.
Hawley was seeking the resignations of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. All three remained with the administration as of Wednesday.
Responding to the White House criticism, Abigail Marone, a spokeswoman for Hawley, said in a statement, “Thirteen servicemembers died in Biden’s catastrophic Afghanistan withdrawal, including one from the St. Louis area. Almost one year later, no one has been held accountable. To the White House, that’s just ‘politics,’ but to the American people, it’s a disgrace.
“Rather than fast-tracking their nominees, Senator Hawley is demanding votes on them. And he will continue to until the Biden Administration stops its coverup of what happened in Afghanistan and comes clean with public hearings and accountability.”
Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, from Wentzville, was among the 13 service members who died on Aug. 26, 2021, during the attack on Abbey Gate in Kabul. He was 20.
The White House disputed Hawley’s characterization that officials were trying to “fast track” any appointments, saying Hawley was obstructing the normal confirmation process for the senior-level Department of Defense nominees.
The White House provided a list of nominees that Hawley was blocking from fast confirmation on the Senate floor. An official said all of the nominees had cleared Senate committees in either March or April.
The list includes:
— Lester Martinez-Lopez, nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Department of Defense.
— M. Tia Johnson, nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.
— Ravi Chaudhary, nominee for Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Energy, and the Environment.
— Agnes G. Schaefer, nominee for Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Department of Defense.
— Franklin Parker, nominee for Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Department of Defense.
— Robert P. Storch, nominee for Inspector General of the Department of Defense.
———
