WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today announced his opposition to the nomination of Dr. Colin Kahl to be the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. Dr. Kahl has made a number of inflammatory statements about Republican policymakers and has supported a series of disastrous policies during his career, including the Iran nuclear deal.

“As one of our military’s highest-ranking civilian officials, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy should be a level-headed leader with a proven ability to develop winning solutions to our nation’s defense challenges,” Wicker said. “Dr. Kahl falls short of this standard. His words and actions show he is incapable of providing the leadership the American people deserve.”

Dr. Kahl was one of the principal architects of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the “Iran Deal.” The deal failed to provide meaningful safeguards against Iran procuring the materials needed  to produce a nuclear weapon and prematurely relaxed sanctions that had provided leverage in negotiations.

Among other partisan statements, Dr. Kahl promoted false allegations of collusion between President Trump and Russia, and openly disclosed strategic steps Iran could take to target U.S. forces in response to the assassination of Iranian terrorist leader Qasem Soleimani.