Newsroom

November 24, 2014

Defense Secretary Hagel resigns

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel resigned Monday after serving fewer than two years in the post. He will remain as defense secretary until a replacement is confirmed.

Hagel most recently pushed Congress for a new round of military base closures and a cut-back on troop benefits to give the Pentagon more flexibility to address its own budget before year-end. Congress has blocked the Pentagon's request for base realignment and closure, or BRAC authority, for both 2013 and 2015. The last BRAC took place in 2005.

In response to Hagel's recent request, NAFCU Military Liaison Quincy Enoch said that while base closures likely won't occur this year, credit unions should begin preparing for such a scenario in the years to come.

In a White House announcement about Hagel's resignation, President Obama said that Hagel served a critical role moving the military "through a significant period of transition" and praised the "young Army sergeant from Vietnam who rose to serve as America's 24th secretary of defense," as quoted by The New York Times.

The Times also noted that administration officials said that Obama decided to remove Hagel from his position last week after several meetings between the two.