The U.S. Senate approved former CIA Director Robert Gates' nomination to be defense secretary yesterday by a 95-2 vote, according to the Associated Press.
The vote came one day after the Armed Services Committee voted unanimously to send Gates' nomination to the Senate floor. Sens. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and Jim Bunning, R-Ky., voted against Gates. Three Senators - Joe Biden, D-Del., Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., - did not vote according to the AP.
Gates, 63, will replace current Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Dec. 18. Rumsfeld resigned on Nov. 8 after the incumbent Republican Party lost its majorities in both houses of Congress the previous day, according to the AP.
During questioning Tuesday, Gates said the U.S. was not winning the Iraq war and said the next two years would be crucial in determining U.S. options for changing tactics.
"Our course over the next year or two will determine whether the American and Iraqi people and the next president of the United States will face a slowly but steadily improving situation in Iraq and in the region or will face the very real risk and possible reality of a regional conflagration," he said.
