For Carter, Plenty of Advice from Hill: There's no shortage of advice on Capitol Hill for the new defense secretary, and members have some rather lofty expectations.
Just hours after the Senate approved his nomination 93-5, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, said "both [incoming] Secretary [Ashton] Carter and Congress have their work cut out for them."
But if the former deputy defense secretary needs some guideposts to help him navigate his news position, members of Congress are offering plenty.
HASC Ranking Member put it mildly when describing a job that will force Carter to deal with more across-the-board budget cuts, new threats like the Islamic State and renewed ones like Russia.
"In the current budget and political environment, this job will not be easy," Smith said in a statement.
Smith then took not easy and raised it to maybe impossible, setting a goal for Carter that has confounded many US officials and lawmakers.
