Ash Carter vows to be âa stickler for the chain of commandâ
Ash Carter vows to be a âstickler for the chain of commandâ if confirmed by the Senate as the next secretary of defense, according to the opening statement prepared for his confirmation hearing Wednesday. âI have promised President Obama that, if I am confirmed, I will furnish him my most candid strategic advice,â Carter says in his opening prepared remarks for the Senate Armed Services Committee, obtained by POLITICO. âThe law also prescribes the chain of command and, if I am confirmed as secretary of defense, I will be a stickler for the chain of command.â Story Continued Below Carterâs comments allude to Republican criticisms that the White House micromanages Pentagon affairs, making it difficult for Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel â or Carter, or anyone else â to effectively carry out the job. The former deputy defense secretary also makes the case for his support of acquisition reform, saying heâs âechoingâ the call for major reforms by Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.). And Carter urges Congress to work with the Pentagon to end sequestration, saying he backs the Obama administrationâs fiscal 2016 defense budget that busts through the sequestration spending caps by $35 billion. âI very much hope that we can find a way together out of the wilderness of sequester,â Carter says in his prepared remarks. âI am not familiar with the details of the FY 2016 budget submitted a few days ago, and if confirmed I will come back here for a full posture hearing to discuss them. But I strongly support the presidentâs request for relief from the sequester caps in fiscal 2016 and through the future year defense plan.â Carter, who will be introduced to the committee by former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), is likely to face tough questions at Wednesdayâs hearing on everything from the budget to Obamaâs foreign policy strategy, in which Republicans are likely press Carter on his ability to be an independent force at the Pentagon. In a 91-page pre-hearing questionnaire, Carter did not provide much detail on how heâd handle the major national security crises facing the U.S., though he did say heâd recommend changes to the U.S. withdrawal policy in Afghanistan should circumstances change there. Still, Carterâs confirmation is hardly in doubt, no matter how pointed the questions may be. He has the support of most senators on both sides of the aisle, including McCain, who is eager to move Carterâs confirmation through the committee as quickly as possible, potentially shortening the period that senators can submit follow-up questions after the hearing in order to get a full Senate vote more quickly. Wednesdayâs hearing, though, is expected to stretch from morning to night. âIt will go for a long time,â McCain told POLITICO.