The Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved the nomination of Ashton Carter as defense secretary, sending it to the Senate floor where he’s expected to be confirmed by the end of the week.
Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., later said that he was unaware of any opposition to Carter’s nomination and suggested a confirmation vote could come as early as Wednesday.
Carter was meeting with senators at the Capitol after the committee’s action.
Carter, 60, a longtime senior Pentagon official who most recently was deputy secretary from October 2011 until December 2013, is expected to easily be confirmed to replace outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
Republicans were generally pleased with President Obama naming Carter to the post but had concerns about White House micromanagement of the Pentagon. The worries had been reinforced by public comments from former secretaries Robert Gates and Leon Panetta and news reports that the same problem led to Hagel’s forced departure.
Among those concerns were complaints by both Gates and Panetta that White House officials were bypassing Pentagon leaders and dealing directly with commanders on important matters. At his confirmation hearing Feb. 4, Carter pledged he would put an end to that.
“If I’m confirmed as secretary of defense, I will be a stickler for the chain of command,” he said.
This article was originally published at 9:43 a.m. and has since been updated.
