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| Defense Secretary Hagel, under pressure, submits resignation | Defense Secretary Hagel, under pressure, submits resignation |
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| Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel submitted his resignation Monday, bowing to pressure from the White House to step down after less than two years in the job in what could portend a broader shake-up among President Obama’s national security team. | |
| Hagel resigned after holding a series of discussions with Obama and other White House officials in recent weeks. A senior defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Obama and Hagel “both determined that it was time for new leadership at the Pentagon.” | Hagel resigned after holding a series of discussions with Obama and other White House officials in recent weeks. A senior defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Obama and Hagel “both determined that it was time for new leadership at the Pentagon.” |
| Hagel will remain as defense secretary until Obama can pick a replacement, who must also be confirmed by the Senate. Possible contenders include Michele Flournoy and Ashton Carter, former high-ranking defense officials during Obama’s first term who were passed over for the top job in favor of Hagel two years ago. | Hagel will remain as defense secretary until Obama can pick a replacement, who must also be confirmed by the Senate. Possible contenders include Michele Flournoy and Ashton Carter, former high-ranking defense officials during Obama’s first term who were passed over for the top job in favor of Hagel two years ago. |
| Obama formally announced the resignation in a late-morning appearance at the White House. Flanked by Hagel and Vice President Biden, he praised Hagel’s service, listed a series of accomplishments and said he appreciated Hagel’s role as an adviser who has “always given it to me straight.” | |
| Hagel, in brief remarks, said that serving as defense secretary “has been the greatest privilege of my life,” and he said he would stay on until a successor is confirmed. | |
| Neither Obama nor Hagel gave a specific reason for the resignation. | |
| When Obama nominated Hagel in January 2013, the president was intent on limiting defense spending, winding down the war in Afghanistan and keeping the military out of conflicts in the Middle East. He made clear that he was picking the decorated Vietnam War combat veteran in large part because Hagel understood “that sending young Americans to fight and bleed in the dirt and mud, that’s something we only do when it’s absolutely necessary.” | |
| Since then, however, Obama has reluctantly been dragged back into the Middle East, signing deployment orders to send as many as 2,900 troops to Iraq to serve as advisers in the fight against the Islamic State. | |
| Hagel has been a quiet figure in that debate as the administration has struggled to articulate a strategy for defeating Islamic State and stabilizing Iraq and Syria, largely ceding the stage to other figures such as Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. | |
| Rumors had intensified this month that Hagel’s time was short, though the former Republican senator from Nebraska has insisted in recent interviews that he was planning to stay at the Pentagon. The resignation was first reported by The New York Times. | Rumors had intensified this month that Hagel’s time was short, though the former Republican senator from Nebraska has insisted in recent interviews that he was planning to stay at the Pentagon. The resignation was first reported by The New York Times. |
| A senior administration official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Obama initiated discussions with Hagel about leaving in October — shortly before the mid-term congressional elections that saw the president’s party take a beating. | A senior administration official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Obama initiated discussions with Hagel about leaving in October — shortly before the mid-term congressional elections that saw the president’s party take a beating. |
| Hagel never quite recovered from a stumbling performance during his confirmation process that led the Senate to approve his nomination by a narrow 58-41 vote in February 2013. The margin was exceptionally narrow, especially given the fact that he had served two terms in the Senate. Only four GOP senators voted for their fellow Republican. | Hagel never quite recovered from a stumbling performance during his confirmation process that led the Senate to approve his nomination by a narrow 58-41 vote in February 2013. The margin was exceptionally narrow, especially given the fact that he had served two terms in the Senate. Only four GOP senators voted for their fellow Republican. |
| Hagel served in the Senate with Obama and the two bonded during overseas trips, where both were leading critics of the Iraq war during the administration of former President George W. Bush. He was tapped to replace Leon Panetta at the Pentagon at the end of Obama’s first term in the White House. | Hagel served in the Senate with Obama and the two bonded during overseas trips, where both were leading critics of the Iraq war during the administration of former President George W. Bush. He was tapped to replace Leon Panetta at the Pentagon at the end of Obama’s first term in the White House. |
| Unlike Panetta and his predecessor, Robert M. Gates, Hagel was generally accepting of the White House’s push to keep a lid on defense spending, which had soared after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. | Unlike Panetta and his predecessor, Robert M. Gates, Hagel was generally accepting of the White House’s push to keep a lid on defense spending, which had soared after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. |
| He was most visible in supporting Obama’s strategic “pivot” to Asia, taking numerous trips to visit allies in that part of the world. But his time spent in Asia came at the expense of making his presence felt in the Middle East and Afghanistan, which continued to dominate the national security agenda despite the White House’s desire to wind down U.S. military involvement in the region. | He was most visible in supporting Obama’s strategic “pivot” to Asia, taking numerous trips to visit allies in that part of the world. But his time spent in Asia came at the expense of making his presence felt in the Middle East and Afghanistan, which continued to dominate the national security agenda despite the White House’s desire to wind down U.S. military involvement in the region. |
| This month, for instance, Hagel was scheduled to travel to Burma and Vietnam, where Pentagon officials were eager to make a show of his return to the country where he fought the Viet Cong as a young infantryman and was badly wounded in battle, twice. | |
| He was forced to postpone the visit three weeks ago, a decision that the Pentagon attributed to “new and significant demands being placed” on his schedule, including a congressional hearing on the war against the Islamic State. At the time, Hagel’s aides denied the decision was a sign that he had fallen out of favor with the White House, insisting that he looked forward to rescheduling the visit. |