WASHINGTON— United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) today released the following statement after receiving the response of Colin Kahl, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, to his letter seeking information regarding tweets in which Kahl likely disclosed sensitive, including classified, national security information. Hagerty intends to continue objecting to Kahl’s confirmation until questions are fully answered.
“Mr. Kahl’s response to my questions fell woefully short of what the Senate should expect from a nominee to one of our nation’s top national security positions. His contorted, blundering, weak response went to great lengths to avoid answering the questions I posed, and he did not deny disclosing classified information. Mr. Kahl’s nomination should not advance until he is fully transparent or until this situation is fully investigated. His evasiveness raises more questions than it answers, and I fear that parts of his response may have implicated him further. If the Senate Armed Services Committee approves his nomination, I will continue to object to his confirmation until these concerns are fully resolved.”
A copy of the letter Hagerty sent to the SASC on Thursday raising the previously overlooked disclosures can be found here.