Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) said Monday she needs "assurance" there is a "level of consistency" in terms of what defense secretary nominee told her in a private meeting.
"I'll be up front with you: In that exchange, he did a lot to allay the concerns that I have," Murkowski said of her private meeting with Hagel in an interview with Andrea Mitchell. "What troubles me now is that, in view of what I have seen, albeit somewhat truncated here, with his performance before the committee last week, I need to go back and gain assurance there was a level of consistency. And right now, I can tell you, I don't have that."
Murkowski said Hagel's performance Thursday--widely considered weak--gave her "some concerns."
"I've caught many of the news snippets that, of course, give me some concern, I'll be very honest with you," she said. "But I have to acknowledge that what we've seen come out of the news has been some of the more dramatic moments, some of the moments where clearly Sen. Hagel displayed weakness, I've got some concerns about that."
Murkowski said earlier Monday that she is "uncertain" on Hagel following her remarks at the release of her energy policy.
"I’m doing energy right now. I’m focused totally on energy," she said responding to a reporter's question. "But I’m uncertain, I can give you that much, how about?"