Hagel vote postponed in Senate

WASHINGTON — A Senate panel on Wednesday abruptly postponed a vote on Chuck Hagel's nomination to be defense secretary amid Republican demands for more information from President Barack Obama's nominee about his paid speeches and business dealings.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, had hoped to vote on the nomination on Thursday during a separate hearing on Libya, but Levin issued a statement late Wednesday saying no vote would occur this week.

"The committee's review of the nomination is not yet complete. I intend to schedule a vote on the nomination as soon as possible," Levin said.

Hours earlier, committee Republicans said they were dissatisfied with information Hagel provided the panel after his confirmation hearing last week, and no vote should occur. They focused on his speeches and affiliations with organizations such as the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan public interest group.

Hagel, a former two-term Republican senator from Nebraska, faces strong opposition from his GOP ex-colleagues who question his past statements and votes on Israel, Iran and nuclear weapons. It was unclear whether the delay in the vote would derail the nomination or merely postpone action on Obama's choice to replace Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

In a letter to Hagel, Republicans complained that he failed to answer several questions, including details on all compensation of more than $5,000 that he had received over the past five years. They also pressed him on his recent speeches, the groups he has addressed and their donors.

"The committee, and the American people, have a right to know if a nominee for secretary of defense has received compensation, directly or indirectly, from foreign sources," Senate Republicans wrote. "Until the committee receives full and complete answers, it cannot in good faith determine whether you should be confirmed as secretary of defense."