The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) cast a unanimous voice vote yesterday in favor of making Leon Panetta the next defense secretary, leaving a confirmation vote by the full Senate the final hurdle he must overcome before succeeding the retiring secretary, Robert Gates.
Panetta, the current Central Intelligence Agency Director (CIA), was warmly welcomed by SASC members during his confirmation hearing last week. He largely reinforced Obama and Gates’ stances on the defense budget, including Gates’ concerns about a review aimed at cutting $400 billion in security spending by 2023.
Panetta, though, raised some concerns in the defense industry when he spoke favorably during the hearing about requiring contractors to pay part of the cost of developing weapon systems and to share in the cost of budget overruns.
Panetta directed the CIA since Feb. 13, 2009. He previously served as President Bill Clinton’s chief of staff and director of the Office of Management and Budget. He was a Democratic congressman from California from 1977 to 1993, and chaired the House Budget Committee during his final four years in the House.