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Senate approves new Army secretary after Guantanamo delay
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In this Nov. 18, 2015 file photo, Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Roberts is blocking a vote on the nomination of Eric Fanning to be the next Army secretary. At issue are efforts by the president to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transfer detainees to the United States. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)
T
he Senate confirmed the long-stalled nomination of Eric Fanning to be Army secretary, making him the first openly gay leader of a US military service.
The voice vote approval Tuesday came after Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., dropped his opposition to Fanning. Roberts said a senior Pentagon official had told him that no detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, would be sent to the Army prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, or other facilities in the United States.
Congress has included prohibitions on moving Guantanamo detainees to the US in annual defense policy bills, thwarting President Barack Obama's campaign promise to close the prison.
Roberts said he met May 10 with Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work, who assured Roberts he was "the person who would have to execute" the moving of detainees to the mainland, "and the clock has run out.'"
But in a statement, Work said he made clear to Roberts that the Obama administration has not taken any location off the table for relocating Guantanamo detainees.
He said he told Roberts that blocking Fanning's confirmation was "depriving the Army of leadership at a time of war and was the wrong way to express his opposition to the administration's plan for responsibly closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay."
Defense Secretary Ash Carter issued a separate statement congratulating Fanning. Carter said he is confident Fanning will make an exceptional Army secretary.
Roberts said he knows Obama will continue to try and close the prison at Guantanamo before he leaves office in January. But said he took Work at his word.
"He understands the significant and costly changes that would need to be made at Fort Leavenworth to change the post's mission," Roberts said. "Most importantly, he understands the legal restrictions on funding to move the detainees to Fort Leavenworth by January 20, 2017."
Fanning served as the Army secretary's principal adviser on management and operation of the service, with a focus on the budget. He was undersecretary of the Air Force from April 2013 to February 2015, and for half a year was the acting secretary of the Air Force. He also worked on Defense Secretary Ash Carter's transition. (bbn)
