President Barack Obama listens in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 7, 2013, where he announced that he is nominating Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, John Brennan, center, as the new CIA director; and former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, right, as the new defense secretary.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
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President Barack Obama listens in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 7, 2013, where he announced that he is nominating Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, John Brennan, center, as the new CIA director; and former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, right, as the new defense secretary.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
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President Barack Obama and his choice for Defense Secretary, former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, left, listen as the president's choice for CIA Director, Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, John Brennan, right, speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 7, 2013, where the president made the announcement. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 7, 2013, to announce that he is nominating Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, John Brennan, right, as the new CIA director; and former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, left, as the new defense secretary. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, right, and fellow committee member Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., left, listen as Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., center, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012, saying says he would do all he could to block the nomination of United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice to replace Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton because of comments she made after the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, left, accompanied by fellow committee members, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., center, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012, where he said he would do all he could to block the nomination of United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice to replace Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton because of comments she made after the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, center, accompanied by fellow committee members, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., left, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012, where he said he would do all he could to block the nomination of United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice to replace Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton because of comments she made after the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Republican Chuck Hagel, President Obama's choice for defense secretary, testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., second from left, asks a question of former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, second from right, President Barack Obama's choice for defense secretary, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., left, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., right, listen. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Sen. Lindsey Graham, D-S.C., holds a copy of a congressional letter urging the European Union to blacklist Hezbollah as he questions former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama's choice for defense secretary, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Hagel's nomination. Hagel refused to sign the 2006 letter when he was a Senator urging the European Union to declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., center, flanked by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., left, and the committee's ranking Republican Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., right, asks a question of former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama's choice for defense secretary, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, during the committee hearing on Hagel's nomination. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
GOP senator says Hagel 'seems clueless' on Iran
WASHINGTON (
AP) — Republican Sen.
Lindsey Graham said Tuesday
Chuck Hagel "seems clueless" on U.S. policy toward Iran and he urged the Obama administration to reconsider its defense secretary nominee.
In a statement, the South Carolina lawmaker stopped short of saying he would filibuster the choice if the president pushes forward as expected. No Democrat has come out in opposition to Hagel and he picked up more support on Tuesday as Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., announced that after meeting with Hagel, that she would vote for the former two-term Republican senator and decorated Vietnam combat veteran.
Two Republican senators back Hagel and several others, including Sen. John McCain, say they wouldn't support a filibuster.
"Chuck Hagel is a good man, but these are dangerous times," Graham said. "What kind of signal are we sending to the Iranians when our nominee for secretary of defense seems clueless about what our policy is? I hope the Obama administration will reconsider his nomination."
Graham is a member of the Armed Services Committee, which could vote as early as Thursday on the nomination of Hagel, the former two-term Republican senator from Nebraska. Several senators had requested additional information from Hagel, including copies of recent speeches, before moving ahead on a vote.
The committee said Tuesday that Hagel had submitted the requested information, increasing the likelihood of a vote Thursday.
Hagel stumbled last week at his confirmation hearing on whether the U.S. policy toward Iran is containment, then corrected himself.
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