Secretary of Defense Warns a GOP Shutdown Will Undermine Military

Secretary Hagel had some choice words today for Republicans on their irresponsible strategy, according to the New York Times:

“Aboard a United States military aircraft en route to Korea, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel excoriated his former colleagues in Congress for the current state of fiscal affairs and said that the new House bill to finance military troop pay in the event of a government shutdown would still leave United States forces undermined.”

’This is an astoundingly irresponsible way to govern,’ Mr. Hagel said, adding that a fully functioning military went beyond its forces. ‘The entire support base for our military, for our fighters, comes from the civilian community.’”

If undermining our war fighters around the world isn’t enough for Republicans to abandon this strategy, we aren’t sure what it will take. One would hope they’d heed Secretary Hagel’s warning and work with Democrats to avoid a shut down.