Former US Secretary of State Madeline K. Albright has asked the Senate to quickly approve the nomination of Chuck Hagel as the next Defence Secretary.

“I urge the Senate to act quickly and favourably on President (Barack) Obama’s nomination of former US Senator Hagel to be our nation’s next secretary of defence,” she said, as Republican lawmakers came forward opposing his nomination.

“As a veteran himself, Hagel understands the unique needs of military families and of the warriors who have served our country in the past. These needs, often overlooked, reflect the lasting nature of the wounds that wars inflict on the minds and bodies of our fighting men and women. As secretary of defence, he can be counted on to stand with our veterans, every day, for as long as it takes,” she said.

She hoped that under Hagel’s leadership, US armed forces will remain by far the most capable, best-prepared, best-equipped and best-led on the face of the globe.

Albright’s endorsement of Hagel comes after Republican Senators opposed his nomination, which makes it tough for his confirmation.

“I have serious concerns about positions Senator Hagel has taken on a range of critical national security issues in recent years, which we will fully consider in the course of his confirmation process before the Senate Armed Services Committee,” Senator John McCain said in a statement.

McCain is the Ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a statement said Hagel is a “wrong man” for the job.

“Recent reporting has made clear that Hagel’s views and inflammatory statements about Israel are well outside the mainstream and raise well-founded doubts that he can be trusted to manage the special relationship the United States shares with our greatest Middle East ally,” Cantor said.

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