President Joe Biden’s pick for the No. 3 spot at the Pentagon, Colin Kahl, is facing calls for an FBI investigation from influential Republican senators that may force Biden to withdraw a nomination that has been in danger for a number of weeks.
Kahl was nominated to serve as undersecretary of defense for policy in February but immediately faced Republican backlash for partisan messages on social media. He escaped a Senate committee hearing in March with a 13-13 tie. Now, influential Armed Services Committee members are claiming that Kahl might have mishandled classified material when he served as Biden’s national security adviser. Kahl needs a majority vote on the Senate floor to be confirmed. If the nomination fails or is withdrawn, he would be the second Biden nominee to be pulled back after Neera Tanden, who was the president’s pick for budget director.
“Kahl demonstrated disregard for security protocols that are designed to protect our national security interests,” GOP Sen. Joni Ernst said in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray that was signed by nearly 20 Republican senators.
BIDEN NOMINATES OBAMA-ERA OFFICIAL TO BE FIRST FEMALE ARMY SECRETARY
The former Iowa National Guard member claimed that Kahl has a record of mishandling classified information and dodged questions about the issue during his nomination hearing. Senators claimed Kahl had repeatedly used his access to classified information to first acquire, then post, sensitive information on social media sites.
Ranking member Jim Inhofe said people in top national security positions, such as the one for which Kahl is nominated, have a duty to protect classified information.
“If Dr. Kahl’s past tweets did, in fact, disclose sensitive or confidential national security information, this could be disqualifying for the position and another example of his questionable judgment,” Inhofe said in a Tuesday statement.
Republicans had previously tried to squash the nomination based on Kahl’s partisan tweets.
In a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Wednesday on the intelligence community’s annual worldwide threats assessment, Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, got Wray to acknowledge the letter and consider a review.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Defense officials consulted by the Washington Examiner on Wednesday reaffirmed the intent to proceed and declined to comment on the Republican senators’ calls for an FBI investigation.
“The secretary looks forward to having Dr. Kahl installed as the undersecretary of defense for policy, and he urges the Senate to give Dr. Kahl a vote so he can begin the critical work of leading and matching the department’s policy efforts to the will of the American people,” Pentagon spokesman Jamal Brown said.
