Obama's new Army Secretary supports changing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Well, here's some good news, via Kerry Eleveld at the Advocate.

At today's White House press briefing, Kerry asked Robert Gibbs about the nomination of Rep. John McHugh (R-NY), who Obama picked to be Secretary of the Army today. McHugh has indicated support for changing the DADT policy -- and, for what seems like the first time in a long time, Gibbs gave a solid response about changing that law:

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday that President Barack Obama's nominee for Secretary of the Army, Republican Representative John McHugh, agrees with the president that "don't ask, don't tell" should be changed.

"I think it's obvious from those statements and other statements that Congressman McHugh has made that he and the President are in agreement on changing the policy that they both don't think is working for this country right now," Gibbs said in response to a question from The Advocate. "It's a priority of the president's and I think, for any number of reasons, we have a nominee that we hope can be confirmed quickly and will have -- ah, based on his background and experience -- will help to improve the lives of (inaudible).

McHugh is the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. During last summer's hearings on the military gay ban, McHugh expressed a desire to see a review of the policy and frustration that the Department of Defense and military leadership had not been more open to addressing the issue.

So, we'll have an ally in the Pentagon. A Republican ally. And, "change" better mean "repeal."

Think Progress posted the video: