{"id":35570,"date":"2021-04-27T17:43:01","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T17:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/04\/27\/bidens-pentagon-policy-chief-colin-kahl-poised-for-confirmation-with-gop-senators-absent\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:51:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:51:35","slug":"bidens-pentagon-policy-chief-colin-kahl-poised-for-confirmation-with-gop-senators-absent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2021\/04\/27\/bidens-pentagon-policy-chief-colin-kahl-poised-for-confirmation-with-gop-senators-absent\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden\u2019s Pentagon policy chief Colin Kahl confirmed with GOP senators absent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 The Senate confirmed Colin Kahl <\/a>to be the undersecretary of defense for policy in a 49-45 party-line vote Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Kahl\u2019s confirmation, the former national security adviser to then-Vice President Biden will assume the No. 3 civilian job at the Pentagon, overseeing strategy, nuclear deterrence, missile defense, international cooperation, and plans and policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike a procedural vote last week, GOP absences Tuesday meant there was no dramatic tie for Vice President Kamala Harris to break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among several lawmakers who did not vote, Republican Sens. Kevin Cramer and Richard Shelby were out of Washington, D.C. due to family emergencies. Shelby returned to Alabama on Tuesday morning, and Cramer announced he would be away all week after his mother died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do not plan to be in Washington, D.C., this week as I attend to family matters. Over the weekend, my Mother Clarice Cramer peacefully passed away after having lived with Alzheimer\u2019s Disease,\u201d Cramer said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur family appreciates the messages of comfort and support we have already received. We are grateful we were able to spend time with our mom during her last days on earth before she went home to be reunited with her husband and the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senate Republicans have been unified in their opposition to Kahl, who was a vocal supporter of the hot-button Iran nuclear deal. They seized on his history of tweets attacking Republican lawmakers to argue he lacks the judgment and temperament for the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Democrats accused Republicans of waging a partisan proxy fight over the deal and Biden\u2019s plan to rejoin it. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., has said Kahl was subjected to a \u201csmear campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month included a sometimes tense confirmation hearing<\/a> and the evenly divided Senate Armed Services Committee deadlock on Kahl\u2019s nomination. That led to a Senate vote last week to advance Kahl\u2019s nomination, where Harris cast a tie-breaking vote\u2015and it seemed then like she would have to again this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the absences made it unnecessary. On Tuesday, the Senate voted 49-44 to close debate on Kahl\u2019s nomination before the final vote a few hours later. Six Republicans and one Democrat missed that vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Absent for the confirmation vote were Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell, and Republican Sens. Roy Blunt, Rand Paul and Mike Rounds \u2015 with Cramer and Shelby.<\/p>\n\n\n\t