Inhofe, left, took over as the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services panel after McCain, and committee Democrats have rebuked Inhofe for his more partisan approach.
Levin then said, “We are not going to accept your suggestion and innuendo that there is some kind of a conflict of interest here because there is not evidence of a conflict of interest.”
On Wednesday, after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., filed for cloture on Hagel’s nomination, setting up a Friday vote, Levin took the unusual step of scolding Cruz on the Senate floor. Cruz’s accusation, Levin said, “is offensive to those of us who have served with him and is beneath the dignity of the United States Senate.”
Appealing to Courtesy
As ranking member emeritus, McCain appears to be trying to maintain some of the comity that used to be the norm for the Armed Services panel.
In a statement issued earlier in the week, McCain called out some members of the panel who might be considering a walkout of the executive meeting. In an extraordinary comment, McCain said such a gesture would be disrespectful to Levin.
Later, in an interview, Levin said he appreciated McCain’s statement.
“I thought McCain’s comment was very appreciated but very much in keeping with the spirit, the bipartisan spirit, of this committee,” he said. “I think every member of the committee realizes there is going to be differences over issues, and the importance of our work is too great to allow differences over issues to seep into clashes over personality. We’re not going to let it happen.”
These comments were made, however, before the executive meeting.
Inhofe also insisted that he and Levin have worked well together and that these recent conflicts are more coincidental to the issues the panel has had to wrestle with at the outset of the legislative year. His aides also point to Inhofe’s tenure as ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, when he was able to work with California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer to deliver bipartisan bills to the Senate floor.
But Inhofe’s propensity for controversial statements has elicited visceral responses from Democrats, and Tuesday’s executive meeting was no different.
“I’d say he’s endorsed by” Iran, Inhofe said of Hagel during the meeting. “You can’t get any cozier than that.”
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., when given the chance, addressed Inhofe directly. “I’ve got to tell you, Sen. Inhofe, be careful because you might have an organization endorse you that you find abhorrent,” she said. “And then ... would I have the right to say you were cozy with them? What if some horrible organization said that you were the best guy they knew?”
Out of Balance
Dozens of times throughout the hearing, lawmaker after lawmaker cited the panel’s history of bipartisanship, but each such note served as a signal that all was not smooth among the lawmakers.
“This committee has had to deal with difficult issues before,” Levin said at one point. “There have been occasions when we have actually split on a party line. We have survived those very, very strongly. We will survive this one, and we’ll be just as strong coming out as we were going in.”
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