Gavel Down

After two rounds of questions, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) brought the nomination hearing of former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) to be the next defense secretary to a close at 5:45 this afternoon. The hearing began at 9:30 this morning, and only broke twice for floor votes.

Hagel withstood a barrage of questions from skeptical committee Republicans, many of them touching on the former senator's support for Israel.

Committee members have until 5 p.m. Friday to submit any remaining questions for the record, and Hagel has until 5 p.m. next Monday to answer them.

View Hagel's prepared testimony and other pre-written documents from the hearing.