CBS News – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is resigning, CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin has learned, and will leave his position after less than two years at the helm of the Defense Department.
A senior defense official told Martin the resignation is a “mutual decision” between Hagel and President Obama that has been under discussion for the last couple of weeks. Hagel will stay in office until his replacement is confirmed. The president will announce Hagel’s resignation at 11:10 a.m. in the State Dining Room.
A senior administration official told CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller that Hagel began discussing his departure with the president in October to coincide with the transitions that would occur after the midterm elections.
Martin reports that he was was fed up with micromanagement from the White House, while the White House was unhappy that Hagel was not a vocal defender of the administration’s policies.
Hagel was Mr. Obama’s third defense secretary, following Robert Gates, a holdover from the Bush administration, Leon Panetta, who also served as the CIA director prior to his retirement in 2013.
His resignation comes as the U.S. is tackling several crises abroad, ranging from the rapid rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Middle East, to ongoing international talks to curb Iran’s nuclear program to the spread of Ebolain West Africa.
Additionally, the president quietly moved toexpand the U.S. military role in Afghanistan in 2015 so that U.S. troops can go on the offensive against Taliban or Haqqani fighters preparing to attack American or coalition forces and conduct counter terrorism operations against al Qaeda. The U.S. will also be able to provide close air support to Afghan forces.
With his foreign policy coming under scrutiny and sagging poll numbers in the past two years, Mr. Obama felt he had to make a change in his team, Martin reports. Secretary of State John Kerry was spearheading the Iran negotiations, so he was not a viable option, and the president did not want to replace National Security Adviser Susan Rice, with whom he has a close personal relationship.
Once Mr. Obama started talking about the future, Hagel saw the handwriting and submitted his resignation.
In an interview last week, he told CBS This Morning co-host Charlie Rose that Mr. Obama has faced more trying challenges than any of his predecessors.
“What bothers me the most, concerns me the most is, are we going to be — our leaders, all of us together — are we going to be able to get through this time, which is a very defining time and a difficult time,” Hagel said when asked about his biggest concerns. “I told the president not too long ago, I don’t know of a time that has been more difficult to be president of the United States or lead in this country than right now.”
But he also seemed uncertain about his role in that fight. When Rose asked him whether he had the confidence of the president, Hagel responded, “I don’t think I’d be here if I didn’t. But you’d have to ask him that.”
He also said he had not yet begun thinking about his legacy, even though it would later become clear he already had a foot out the door.
“I’m not thinking about that, I’m not worried about it,” he said. “Actually I’ve always just done every job the best I could, as honestly as I could, as straight forwardly as I could. And then I’ll let the rest– they’ll sort it out.”
Mr. Obama nominated Hagel, a former Republican U.S. senator from Nebraska, in January 2013, to replace Panetta. He wasconfirmed in late February 2013 after a contentious set of confirmation hearings.
Despite his party affiliation, several Republicans denounced his past statements about Iran and Israel. Outside advocacy groups were also swift to get involved, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on television ads aimed at torpedoing Hagel’s chances.
Additionally, he was a vocal critic of former President George W. Bush’s policies in Iraq.
He was ultimately confirmed in a final vote of 58 to 41, with just four Republicans joining Democrats in favor.
