Kahl apologized at the beginning of Thursday’s hearing for what he called “disrespectful” language on social media, and argued that he would approach political office from a non-partisan perspective and with a bipartisan lens in his negotiations with Congress.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Who plans to vote against Kahl, confronted the nominee at the beginning of the hearing, noting previous tweets that criticized Republicans and the policies of former President Donald Trump. In a tweet, Kahl said Republicans “stooped down on Trump’s altar” and said the GOP was “the party of ethnic cleansing”, sharing a news story about Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas defending Trump’s decision to move troops out of northern Syria before Turkey’s incursion there.
“The real moments of tension will happen when you are in the Pentagon and Iran hijacks another American ship or China takes down an aircraft,” Cotton told Kahl. “And if that’s the way you respond to mere political differences when you’re sitting at home reading the news, I don’t think you’re able to sit in the Pentagon and make decisions about life and death.”
Kahl said he was “swept away” by the online polarization environment during Trump’s years.
“To state the obvious, the past few years have been quite polarized on social media. I’m sure there were times when I was involved in this,” Kahl told Cotton. “There were a number of positions that President Trump took on which I strongly oppose. I think the language I used to oppose them was sometimes disrespectful, and for that I apologize.”
He emphasized his “long track record” of putting aside party politics in the Pentagon, starting with the George W. Bush administration.
“I understand that the position of the Undersecretary for Defense for Policies, although it is a political nomination, is not a political job. It is a political job. One that requires me to be non-partisan,” he added. “I know I can behave this way because I did it the last time I was at the Pentagon.”
The panel’s top Republican, Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe, also questioned Kahl’s comments and political positions – including whether sanctions should be lifted against Iran. And he criticized the details of a call last week between him and Kahl reported by POLITICO.
“National security is very important for party politics,” said Inhofe. “Unfortunately, in the past, in many cases, their public policy positions have been expressed in party policies, rather than fact-based analysis.”
Senator Mike Rounds (RS.D.) compared the Republican Party’s concerns with Kahl’s tweets to the opposition of Anthony Tata, nominated for Trump for the most important Pentagon policy post, which was withdrawn last year amid scrutiny. for making fiery comments about Muslim and Democratic officials and amplifying conspiracy theories on Twitter. Later, Tata was appointed acting chief of policy.
“Their tweets have been difficult and, in many cases, arson, which is why many members have had problems with the previous government nominee for the same post,” said Rounds.
One Democrat, Hawaii’s Senator Mazie Hirono, noted the irony of Republicans getting a candidate for harsh tweets after many Republican lawmakers avoided commenting on Trump’s incendiary posts saying they had not seen them.
“I notice that this nominee has been criticized for some tweets that he released about the deal with Iran, which I consider to be one of the most important deals that Iran has made,” said Hirono. “That kind of criticism of the tweets from people who didn’t say anything about the former president’s kind of lying and racist tweets, I think is very rich.”
In addition to Cotton, Iowa Republican Joni Ernst announced during the hearing that she would oppose Kahl’s nomination.
Another member of the Republican Armed Forces, Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, vowed to oppose Kahl before Thursday’s hearing. The Republican senator argued that Kahl “has been consistently wrong on almost every foreign policy issue in recent memory” and “has no significant experience” in China.
Democrats seemed very supportive of Kahl. Armed Services President Jack Reed (DR.I.) praised Kahl’s experience, which includes serving as the Pentagon’s chief policy officer for the Middle East from 2009 to 2011 and as national security adviser to then Vice President Biden from 2014 to 2017.
And Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) Said that the Republican opposition to Kahl is more rooted in his views on the nuclear deal with Iran, which Kahl supported, than in objections to him.
“I think your nomination is a kind of proxy for a big difference of opinion in this committee and in the Congress on the wisdom of the JCPOA,” Kaine told Kahl. “That is at the heart of many of the issues today.”
If Senate Republicans unite in opposition to Kahl, a Democrat may cancel the Senate 50-50 nomination. The same situation jeopardized Tanden’s nomination when Democratic Senator Joe Manchin objected to his candidacy.