Sen. John McCain said Wednesday he is working hard to move forward on the nomination of Eric Fanning to serve as Army secretary, which a fellow senator is holding up over objections to moving Gitmo detainees to the U.S.
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., placed a hold on Fanning’s nomination this year until the senator is assured that no detainees will be sent to his home state.
But McCain, R-Ariz., said he’s talked to Roberts “ad nauseum” about his hold on Fanning.
“He feels very strongly, obviously, as you know about Kansas and Guantanamo. I’ve tried to explain that the secretary of the Army does not have any control over that,” McCain told reporters at the Capitol.
McCain stressed that he is not advocating for Fanning’s confirmation, just asking the Senate to make a decision one way or the other rather than leaving an indefinite hold in place.
“Every senator has the right to put a hold, but in deference to the process and the individual, they have the right to tell them,” McCain said. “You can’t just hold people in limbo forever. It’s not fair to them. That’s why I’m working so hard on the Fanning [nomination,] we’re going to get it resolved one way or the other.”
Still, he said he thought Fanning is “qualified” for the Army’s top civilian post.
“We ought to give him the benefit of a decision of whether we’re just going to continuously hold him or whether we’re going to move forward,” McCain said.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., also placed a hold this week on the administration’s pick to be the Pentagon’s top lawyer until a report due in January on current detainees is delivered.
McCain said that differs from Roberts’ hold since it isn’t indefinite and will presumably be lifted if and when the unclassified report is given to Congress.
