Ten days after announcing reforms to the troubled U.S. nuclear enterprise, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Nov. 24 announced his resignation, which will take effect upon Senate approval of his successor. “I have today submitted my resignation as secretary of defense,” he stated in remarks delivered alongside President Obama during a press conference in the White House’s State Dining room. “It’s been the greatest privilege of my life – the greatest privilege of my life to lead and most important to serve, to serve with the men and women of the Defense Department and support their families. I am immensely proud of what we’ve accomplished during this time.” On Nov. 14, Hagel announced during a Pentagon press conference that over the Future Years’ Defense Program, the Pentagon plans to spend billions – most likely $10 billion, he said – on top of the annual $15 billion-plus that currently funds the nuclear enterprise. The money would finance reforms in personnel structures and equipment within a nuclear enterprise marred by recent Air Force and Navy cheating scandals.
President Obama during the White House press conference expressed appreciation for Hagel’s service. “[I]n a very difficult budgetary environment, Chuck has never lost sight of key priorities – the readiness of our force and the quality of our life, of our troops and their families,” Obama stated in prepared remarks. “He’s launched new reforms to ensure that even as our military is leaner, it remains the strongest in the world and so our troops can continue to get the pay, the housing, the health care, the child care that they and their families need, reforms that we need Congress to now support.” Responding to news of Hagel’s resignation, House Armed Services Committee Chair Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) released a Nov. 24 statement criticizing the turnover rate of defense secretaries serving the Obama Administration, but touted Hagel’s leadership through tight budgets and what he said was White House overreach. “The Obama Administration is now in the market for their 4th Secretary of Defense. When the President goes through three Secretaries, he should ask ‘Is it them, or is it me?’" the statement reads. “Chuck Hagel was an excellent Defense Secretary, and a friend. He was given a thankless task of an underfunded Defense Department, growing threats, and intrusive White House micromanagement. Even with the cards stacked against him, he led the Department with efficiency and aplomb. I’m especially grateful for his close coordination with Congress, and his insistence on putting the troops first.”
