Pentagon Chief Chuck Hagel Is Stepping Down

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Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is resigning from the post after less than two years on the job, President Barack Obama announced Monday.

Obama said he was “reluctant” to see Hagel leave, though an Administration official told TIME that Obama had asked Hagel to resign. Obama said Hagel concluded it’s an “appropriate time for him to complete his service.” He will stay in his post until a successor is confirmed by the Senate.

“Over nearly two years Chuck has been an exemplary Defense Secretary,” Obama said during an appearance with Hagel at the White House. “Chuck is and has been a great friend of mine, since I was a green-behind-the-ears freshman senator,” Obama added.

Hagel called being Secretary of Defense “the greatest privilege of my life.”

MORE: Why Chuck Hagel resigned

An Obama friend dating back to their time opposing the Iraq War in the Senate, Hagel had difficulty interacting with members of Obama’s team and has been rumored to be on his way out for weeks.

In an interview with PBS last week, Hagel sidestepped questions about whether he would remain in the job. “First of all, I serve at the pleasure of the President,” Hagel said. “I’m immensely grateful for the opportunity I’ve had the last two years to work every day for the country and for the men and women who serve this country. I don’t get up in the morning and worry about my job. It’s not unusual by the way, to change teams at different times.

“I didn’t say I expect him to change,” he added under continued questioning. “What I’m saying is it wouldn’t be unusual to do that first of all historically. But second, I’ve got to stay focused on my job… and I do. And I am very fortunate that I have some of the best people in the world to work with and whatever the President decides, he’s the President, he makes those decisions.”

Asked if he still believed he had Obama’s confidence, Hagel said: “Well, I don’t think I would be here if I didn’t. But you’d have to ask him that. I mean I see him all the time.”

MORE: 3 people who could replace Chuck Hagel

Hagel, the first enlisted man to rise to become Secretary of Defense, was seen by Obama aides as having difficulty staying on message and communicating the Administration’s positions clearly. Over the summer, White House aides were forced to walk back comments he made about the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), in which he called the militant group an “imminent threat to every interest we have.”

One former Obama official was skeptical that dropping Hagel will improve the Administration’s foreign policy position. “Not sure what kind of Kool-Aid they are drinking if they think that getting rid of Hagel—and not the national security advisor who’s flailing to handle the [ISIS] problem—is going to make things better,” the former official told TIME.

Hagel faced a tough confirmation battle in 2012 and early 2013 when Democrats controlled the Senate.

“The bottom line is that he wasn’t set up for success by his team when he arrived at the Pentagon,” the former official added. “After a particularly tough confirmation process, instead of pushing the new Secretary to own the job inside the Beltway and in the public eye, his team took the opposite approach. Their goal was just not to make waves.”

Photos: What Obama's Hugs Meant

President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel embrace during a press conference to announce Hagel's departure at the White House on Nov. 24, 2014 in Washington, DC.
You can see it by Obama’s bowed head and Hagel’s sorrowful face – this is an “I’m sorry” hug, plain and simple.Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images
President Barack Obama gives White House press secretary Jay Carney a hug after announcing that Carney will step down later next month, during a surprise visit to the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2014. The president announced Carney's departure in a surprise appearance at in the White House press briefing room Friday. He said principal deputy press secretary Josh Earnest will take over the job. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
This hug between Obama and former Press Secretary Jay Carney may have been commemorating Carney’s departure, but all people will remember is its awkwardness.Susan Walsh—AP
US-VOTE-2012-DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGN
Here’s where Obama’s hug game is the strongest: with Michelle. The peaceful smile on his face, the warm, full-body embrace – this is clearly an “I love you” hug. Consider it the antidote to the Carney debacle. Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 24: U.S. President Barack Obama gives a hug to Dallas nurse Nina Pham in the Oval Office of the White House October 24, 2014 in Washington, DC. Pham, a nurse who was infected with Ebola from treating patient Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas and was first diagnosed on October 12, was declared free of the virus on Friday. (Photo by Pool/Getty Images)
Obama’s hug with nurse Nina Pham after her battle with Ebola was a way to signal to the public that the disease is not as scary as some had thought. This is the hug as public health awareness.Olivier Douliery-—Getty Images
US-WEATHER-STORM-SANDY-OBAMA
Critics charged that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie "hugged" the president, but the Republican claimed it was just a handshake.Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty Images
FILE - In this Oct. 31, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama, left, embraces Donna Vanzant, right, during a tour of a neighborhood effected by Superstorm Sandy in Brigantine, N.J. Vanzant is a owner of North Point Marina, which was damaged by the storm. In the end, President Obama won re-election exactly the way his campaign had predicted: running up big margins with women and minorities, mobilizing a sophisticated registration and get-out-the-vote operation and focusing narrowly on the battleground states that would determine the election. Still, there were detours along the way. Superstorm Sandy upended the campaign in its closing days, though the political impact appears to have been positive for Obama, giving him a high-profile opportunity to show voters presidential leadership(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The photo of Obama hugging a victim of Hurricane Sandy went viral- his solemn face and her tear-stained one, his arms protectively around her shoulders – this is a presidential hug in its purest form.Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP
U.S. President Barack Obama kisses Aung San Suu Kyi following joint remarks at her residence in Yangon, November 19, 2012. President Obama became the first serving U.S. president to visit Myanmar on Monday, trying during a whirlwind six-hour trip to strike a balance between praising the government's progress in shaking off military rule and pressing for more reform. REUTERS/Jason Reed (MYANMAR - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3ALMW
Though Obama’s peck on Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi’s cheek was a pro-democracy smooch, her visible recoil from the kiss indicates that he may have been better off with a handshake.Jason Reed—Reuters
President Barack Obama, right, is picked-up and lifted off the ground by Scott Van Duzer, left, owner of Big Apple Pizza and Pasta Italian Restaurant during an unannounced stop, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, in Ft. Pierce, Fla. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Obama was literally swept off his feet by pizzeria owner Scott Van Duzer. The now-famous bear hug was a “celebrities are just like us” moment, when Obama showed he could still joke around in a regular ol’ pizza joint. Sept. 9, 2012.Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP

His replacement will have to find support from the GOP-controlled Senate in the new Congress next year.

“Secretary Chuck Hagel honorably served the United States as a combat soldier, a U.S. Senator, and as Secretary of Defense,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who will become Majority Leader when Republicans take over the Senate next year, said in a statement. “We appreciate his service to the nation.

“It’s important to remember that Secretary Hagel’s departure comes at a moment of great peril for our country,” McConnell added. “His successor will confront the daunting challenges of: modernizing our conventional military forces to meet the challenges posed by Russia and China; restructuring the force after more than a decade of counterinsurgency warfare; maintaining our dominance in the air and at sea; investing in the next generation of weapons systems to preserve our nuclear triad; and combatting terror whether from Al Qaeda, associate forces, [ISIS], or other groups seeking to exploit the ungoverned spaces created by revolt and unrest. All of these challenges come at a time when the all-volunteer force faces a shortage of resources and investment. It is imperative that the next Secretary of Defense possess a sharp grasp of strategy, a demonstrated ability to think creatively, and the willingness and ability to work with Congress. And it is critical that the President consider these qualifications and challenges as he considers such an important nomination.”

Two former Department of Defense officials—Michele Flournoy, the former under secretary of defense and Ashton Carter, the former deputy secretary of defense—were runners-up to Hagel for the post when former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta stepped down in 2012, and are seen as top contenders to be Hagel’s successor, according to administration officials, along with Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, who is in line to be Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee.

“With the United States facing threats to our national security around the world, it is my hope that Senate Republicans will work with Democrats to give swift and fair consideration to President Obama’s next nominee to this critical post,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who will become Minority Leader next year, said in a statement lauding Hagel’s service.

Read next: Hagel Retreats from Pentagon Under Fire

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