Senate confirms Ashton B. Carter as secretary of defense - Washingtonpost

Ashton B. Carter, a physicist with long experience in national security circles, handily won Senate confirmation Thursday as secretary of defense, becoming President Obama’s fourth pick in six years to lead the Pentagon.

The Senate voted 93 to 5 to approve Carter’s nomination, paving the way for him to be sworn into office sometime in the next few days.

Voting against him were five Republicans senators: Roy Blunt (Mo.), Mike Crapo (Idaho), Mark Kirk (Ill.), James E. Risch (Idaho) and John Boozman (Ark.).

Carter, 60, will replace Chuck Hagel, the former Republican senator from Nebraska who agreed in November to step down after Obama lost confidence in his leadership. The White House has said it wanted a new Pentagon chief to oversee the fight against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, as well as the continued drawdown of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.  Read More on Senate confirms Ashton B. Carter 

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