Chris McDaniel

As a new appointee on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican Roy Blunt of Missouri will have a say in the nomination of former Senator Chuck Hagel to Secretary of Defense.

Blunt will join Democrat Claire McCaskill on the committee that will oversee Hagel's hearing.

Hagel has solicited the ire of many conservatives for his prior statements on Israel. While he served in Congress, Hagel stated that he was a United States Senator, not “an Israeli Senator.”

Blunt and his fellow Republicans are concerned he won't be a close enough ally to Israel.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Chris McDaniel joins the St. Louis Beacon’s Jo Mannies and Jason Rosenbaum to talk about the week’s politics.

On today's episode: Ed Martin becomes the Missouri GOP's new chairman. How did it happen? Also, an update on the jockeying for Missouri's 8th Congressional seat. And then we close it out with a look toward the Missouri legislature.

Follow Chris McDaniel on Twitter: @csmcdaniel

In a narrow victory on Saturday, Ed Martin edged out incumbent David Cole to become the new Missouri GOP Chairman.

Many speculate David Cole was ousted because of the GOP's poor performance in statewide races, where the party lost five out of the six races, in spite of Republican Mitt Romney carrying the state by over 10 points. But it's worth noting that Martin chaired the Missouri GOP's Victory 2012 Campaign, which resulted in only one victory for the party.

At the St. Louis Business Journal's "State of St. Louis," one of the panelists remarked that, in the Missouri legislature, the divide is less between Republicans and Democrats and more between rural and urban representation.

But the upcoming legislative session is somewhat remarkable because both leaders in the legislative bodies are from the St. Louis area. House Speaker Tim Jones is from Eureka, and Senate Majority Leader Tom Dempsey from St. Charles will soon be the President Pro Tem.

Update 1:00 with comments from St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay.

A design, engineering, architecture and construction firm is moving its corporate headquarters from St. Louis to Chicago.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office says Clayco's decision to relocate its headquarters will create about 300 new jobs in Chicago in the next few years. Clayco already has 280 employees in the Chicago area. The company plans to keep its office in St. Louis and no layoffs are planned.