Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel left the White House Monday after announcing his resignation and headed back to the Pentagon, where he gathered his top aides and leaders of the various service branches.
Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said Hagel delivered two messages during the brief meeting: Thanks for your continued support. And get back to work.
For him, its back to business as usual, Kirby said during a Tuesday press briefing.
Still, Hagel finds himself in an awkward situation. Its unclear just how long it will take for President Barack Obama to name a successor and for a soon-to-be-GOP-controlled Senate to confirm that person.
In the meantime, Hagel must try to continue the business of running the military despite his lame-duck status.
The Pentagon has cast Hagels departure as the result of a mutual agreement between the secretary and Obama.
But a flood of White House leaks to various news organizations paint a different picture. They suggest that Obama decided that a change was needed and that Hagel had to go.
Unnamed Obama aides have been quoted suggesting that Hagel wasnt up to the job in one way or another, further complicating Hagels relationship with the White House.
When pressed by reporters Tuesday about that dynamic, Kirby insisted that Hagel is unfazed by those pot shots.
He considers himself a very strong partner inside the national security team. That will continue, Kirby said. And his focus is not on the atmospherics and on the sniping by some anonymous officials in these various news accounts. His focus is on the men and women who wear the uniform and their families and on this very critical time period that we find ourselves in.
Kirby said Hagel wants to continue pressing forward on previously established priorities such as improving security at military installations and shaping up troubled aspects of the nuclear mission.
There are ongoing reviews of the military justice system and the awarding of medals, as well as the effort to combat the militarys epidemic of sexual assault.
On top of all that, theres the transition of the militarys mission in Afghanistan, the campaign against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria and significant budget uncertainty.
Theres a lot of work to do, Kirby said.
Norman Ornstein, a congressional scholar with the American Enterprise Institute, downplayed the potential for the gulf between Hagel and the White House to widen further.
Its fairly clear that there will be some uncomfortable moments, but I dont think there will be any kind of terrible situation or open breach, Ornstein said. He is a good soldier.
Ornstein even suggested that Hagel will feel liberated by his ouster.
Maybe h**l open up more now and ironically it may give him a little more influence.
Source: http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/chuck-hagel-in-awkward-position-as-a-lame-duck-defense/article_7bbc1797-29e2-5b51-983b-b0dec94fed75.html
