The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee unanimously approved Leon Panetta on Tuesday as the next Pentagon chief, Reuters quoted a committee spokeswoman as saying, sending the nomination to the full Senate for consideration. Panetta, nominated for the post by President Barack Obama, is the outgoing head of the Central Intelligence Agency. He is expected to win a Senate floor vote in the near future as the next U.S. defense secretary but the exact timing of that vote is still uncertain.
