The Senate hastily teed up a test vote Thursday afternoon on Defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel, as Republicans threatened to block the nomination until more information is provided about the Benghazi terror attack.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that the vote would be held in the late afternoon -- moving up a vote that was originally set for Friday -- at the request of Republicans. Republicans were looking to turn back the nomination Thursday, rather than waiting one more day.
It's still unclear, though, whether Hagel might reach the 60 votes needed to advance to an up-or-down final vote. Some sources said the Senate is poised to block his nomination -- at least for now -- while others said the White House is in a full-court press to get a few Republicans on board in order to advance the nomination.
Even if Republicans block Hagel Thursday, that doesn't end the process. Some Republicans said Thursday that they would be willing to allow for an up-or-down vote -- which requires only a simple majority -- once they get more answers on Libya from the administration and once lawmakers return from recess. They return the last week of February.
"There are still questions outstanding," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said on the floor, asking for "sufficient time" to get those answers.
The battle on the floor of the Senate Thursday was historic. The Senate has never successfully filibustered a Cabinet secretary. Only two previous Cabinet officials required 60 votes before confirmation, and this has never happened for a Defense secretary nominee. Democrats hold a 55-45 edge in the Senate and have the numbers to confirm Hagel on a majority vote, if allowed to get to that point.
Republicans already are almost uniformly opposed to Hagel. But with the leverage of a 60-vote threshold, they are also demanding the White House provide more information about what President Obama was doing on the night of the Benghazi terror attack.
Some Republican lawmakers predicted to Fox News that Hagel would ultimately get confirmed -- but it won't happen this week.
They note that lawmakers like Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are demanding information on Benghazi as well as the text of additional Hagel speeches. They feel like they've been stonewalled on these items, and so Republicans will not help Democrats get to the 60 votes they need to proceed this week.
The White House provided Republicans some Libya details on Thursday, revealing that Obama did not speak to any Libyan government officials until the night after the attack. White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler sent a letter Thursday to three Republican senators saying former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Libyan President Mohamed Magariaf on Obama's behalf on Sept. 11 to coordinate additional support to protect Americans in Libya.
Ruemmler said Obama spoke to Magariaf on the evening of Sept. 12. The letter did not appear to smooth things over for the purposes of the immediate Hagel vote.
Reid blasted Republicans for the standoff.
"Chuck Hagel had nothing to do with the attack on Bengahzi," he said Thursday on the floor. "There are serious consequences to this delay."
Graham, a Republican, has said he'll vote against ending debate on Hagel's nomination, and Sen. John McCain, another Republican who most sharply questioned Hagel during his Senate hearing, may join him.
They want to know whether Obama spoke to any Libyan government official during the assault and requested assistance for the American personnel at the mission. U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans died in the raid at the compound in Benghazi.
"There seems to not be much interest to hold this president accountable for a national security breakdown that led to the first ambassador being killed in the line of duty in over 30 years," Graham said. "No, the debate on Chuck Hagel is not over. It has not been serious. We don't have the information we need."
The nomination of John Brennan as CIA director is also being delayed; the Senate Intelligence Committee is pushing off a vote amid demands that the White House turn over more details about drone strikes against terror suspects and about the Benghazi attacks. Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, said a vote likely will be postponed till late February.
A president's pick for a Cabinet post usually requires only a majority vote, leading Reid to accuse Senate Republicans of orchestrating a filibuster against a nominee for defense secretary for the first time in the country's history.
Sen. Carl Levin, the Democrat and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he's confident that the White House will supply the information Graham and McCain want and that Hagel will be confirmed.
A bitterly divided Armed Services Committee on Tuesday voted to approve Hagel by a 14-11 vote, with all the panel's Democrats backing him.
The committee's Republicans were unified in opposition to their onetime colleague, who will succeed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta if he's confirmed.
Hagel has faced intense opposition from Republicans, who have challenged his past statements and votes on Israel, Iran, Iraq and nuclear weapons.
Fox News' Chad Pergram and Mike Emanuel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that the vote would be held in the late afternoon -- moving up a vote that was originally set for Friday -- at the request of Republicans. Republicans were looking to turn back the nomination Thursday, rather than waiting one more day.
It's still unclear, though, whether Hagel might reach the 60 votes needed to advance to an up-or-down final vote. Some sources said the Senate is poised to block his nomination -- at least for now -- while others said the White House is in a full-court press to get a few Republicans on board in order to advance the nomination.
Even if Republicans block Hagel Thursday, that doesn't end the process. Some Republicans said Thursday that they would be willing to allow for an up-or-down vote -- which requires only a simple majority -- once they get more answers on Libya from the administration and once lawmakers return from recess. They return the last week of February.
"There are still questions outstanding," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said on the floor, asking for "sufficient time" to get those answers.
The battle on the floor of the Senate Thursday was historic. The Senate has never successfully filibustered a Cabinet secretary. Only two previous Cabinet officials required 60 votes before confirmation, and this has never happened for a Defense secretary nominee. Democrats hold a 55-45 edge in the Senate and have the numbers to confirm Hagel on a majority vote, if allowed to get to that point.
Republicans already are almost uniformly opposed to Hagel. But with the leverage of a 60-vote threshold, they are also demanding the White House provide more information about what President Obama was doing on the night of the Benghazi terror attack.
Some Republican lawmakers predicted to Fox News that Hagel would ultimately get confirmed -- but it won't happen this week.
They note that lawmakers like Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are demanding information on Benghazi as well as the text of additional Hagel speeches. They feel like they've been stonewalled on these items, and so Republicans will not help Democrats get to the 60 votes they need to proceed this week.
The White House provided Republicans some Libya details on Thursday, revealing that Obama did not speak to any Libyan government officials until the night after the attack. White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler sent a letter Thursday to three Republican senators saying former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Libyan President Mohamed Magariaf on Obama's behalf on Sept. 11 to coordinate additional support to protect Americans in Libya.
Ruemmler said Obama spoke to Magariaf on the evening of Sept. 12. The letter did not appear to smooth things over for the purposes of the immediate Hagel vote.
Reid blasted Republicans for the standoff.
"Chuck Hagel had nothing to do with the attack on Bengahzi," he said Thursday on the floor. "There are serious consequences to this delay."
Graham, a Republican, has said he'll vote against ending debate on Hagel's nomination, and Sen. John McCain, another Republican who most sharply questioned Hagel during his Senate hearing, may join him.
They want to know whether Obama spoke to any Libyan government official during the assault and requested assistance for the American personnel at the mission. U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans died in the raid at the compound in Benghazi.
"There seems to not be much interest to hold this president accountable for a national security breakdown that led to the first ambassador being killed in the line of duty in over 30 years," Graham said. "No, the debate on Chuck Hagel is not over. It has not been serious. We don't have the information we need."
The nomination of John Brennan as CIA director is also being delayed; the Senate Intelligence Committee is pushing off a vote amid demands that the White House turn over more details about drone strikes against terror suspects and about the Benghazi attacks. Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, said a vote likely will be postponed till late February.
A president's pick for a Cabinet post usually requires only a majority vote, leading Reid to accuse Senate Republicans of orchestrating a filibuster against a nominee for defense secretary for the first time in the country's history.
Sen. Carl Levin, the Democrat and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he's confident that the White House will supply the information Graham and McCain want and that Hagel will be confirmed.
A bitterly divided Armed Services Committee on Tuesday voted to approve Hagel by a 14-11 vote, with all the panel's Democrats backing him.
The committee's Republicans were unified in opposition to their onetime colleague, who will succeed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta if he's confirmed.
Hagel has faced intense opposition from Republicans, who have challenged his past statements and votes on Israel, Iran, Iraq and nuclear weapons.
Fox News' Chad Pergram and Mike Emanuel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.