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Defense Secretary Hagel steps down, pending replacement

By Matt Bradwell
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announces his resignation alongside President Barack Obama at the White House on Nov. 24, 2014, in Washington, D.C. Hagel will stay on until a replacement is confirmed. UPI/Kevin Dietsch
1 of 6 | Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announces his resignation alongside President Barack Obama at the White House on Nov. 24, 2014, in Washington, D.C. Hagel will stay on until a replacement is confirmed. UPI/Kevin Dietsch | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Amid mounting criticism, increasing international volatility and a lame-duck Democratic majority in the Senate, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has resigned.

"When it matters most, behind closed doors, you've always given it to me straight," President Barack Obama told Hagel from the White House State Dining Room before formally announcing Hagel's resignation.

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"On behalf of a grateful nation, thank you, Chuck."

Hagel, the only Republican member of the administration's national security team, will surrender his post to allow Obama to install a more aggressive secretary in the face of the Islamic State's ongoing surge in Iraq and Syria.

"The next couple of years will demand a different kind of focus," an unnamed administration official told the New York Times.

A conservative who has always openly opposed the war in Iraq, Hagel was tapped to oversee the stabilization of and withdrawal from Afghanistan, and administer the Pentagon's smallest budget in history.

"As our country prepares to celebrate Thanksgiving, I want to acknowledge what [President Obama and Vice President Biden] have done and how thankful I am for you," Hagel replied, turning to Obama and Biden individually as he delivered his remarks.

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"It's a team effort."

According the Times, the administration's list of potential replacements is led by Michèle Flournoy, a former undersecretary of defense; Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a former officer with the Army's 82nd Airborne; and Ashton B. Carter, a former deputy secretary of defense.

Hagel's resignation will be the latest in a string of high-profile personnel changes in the White House in recent months. In May, then-Press Secretary Jay Carney stepped down while national attention was focused on the forced resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. Attorney General Eric Holder has also announced his intentions to resign, but not until Congress appoints a replacement. Like Holder, Hagel will remain at his post his successor is appointed.

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