Senate panel approves first openly gay nominee to lead military branch

The Senate Armed Services Committee approved the nomination of Eric Fanning as secretary of the Army on Thursday by voice vote.

If confirmed, Fanning would be the first openly gay secretary of a U.S. military branch

{mosads}Despite the committee’s approval, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) has a hold on Fanning’s nomination that prevents the full Senate from voting on it.

Roberts has said the hold has nothing to do with Fanning in particular. He wants assurances from President Obama that no detainees from the Guantanamo Bay prison will be sent to his home state.

Last month, Obama unveiled a plan to close the detention facility that would send some detainees to U.S. soil. One of the sites the Pentagon assessed for the potential to send detainees was Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.

“The senator’s hold on Eric Fanning is not personal,” a Roberts spokeswoman said in a written statement Thursday.

“The senator has asked the administration to provide a guarantee that detainees will not wind up in Kansas, as he was able to do when this issue first arose in 2009. This request has been articulated to John McHugh, before he left office as secretary of the Army, to those working closely on the ‘plan,’ and to [Defense] Secretary [Ash] Carter on several occasions.

“He remains committed to stopping the president from moving a single detainee to the U.S. and will continue to use all legislative tools at his disposal to do so.”

At a hearing in January, Fanning said his one of his priorities as secretary of the Army would be to be to find way to reverse cuts to the force.

“If confirmed, I would look for ways to reverse as many of the combat cuts made last year,” he told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I do believe it’s a risk.”

The American Military Partner Association (AMPA), the nation’s largest organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender military spouses and their families, praised the committee’s approval and urged the Senate to confirm Fanning.

“We are thrilled to see Eric Fanning confirmed by the Senate Armed Services Committee,” AMPA President Ashley Broadway-Mack said in a written statement Thursday. “History continues to be written and equality marches forward with the nomination of an openly gay man to serve in this significantly important role. Fanning’s expertise and knowledge within the defense community more than qualifies him to serve as secretary of the Army. We urge the Senate to move quickly to confirm his appointment.”

— Updated at 1:57 p.m.