President Obama’s most controversial Cabinet appointee to date, former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, was confirmed as Secretary of Defense by the Senate on Feb. 27. After overcoming an initial filibuster by Senate Republicans—unprecedented for a Defense Secretary nominee—the Senate confirmed Hagel by a simple majority vote, 58-41. Hagel faced opposition from his former allies in Congress, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Hagel’s Republican opponents primarily cited concerns regarding his commitment to Israel. Hagel once called the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon a “sickening slaughter on both sides,” a comment that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) equated to accusing Israel of slaughter. Most notably, his comment that that the “Jewish lobby intimidated lawmakers”—one he later revised to specify the Israeli lobby—drew charges of anti-Semitism. Meanwhile, some on the left and in the national media derided as homophobic Hagel’s 1996 reference to a future ambassador to Luxembourg as “aggressively gay.” Hagel’s poor performance during the confirmation hearings did little to assuage concerns.
Ultimately, however, a united Democratic front, joined by some Republicans, approved Hagel as secretary of Defense. In his first month, Hagel traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan. He has described the situation in Afghanistan as a war that demands his full attention. Hagel is firmly in line with President Obama’s view on bringing the troops home, noting that the United States never intended to “stay in Afghanistan indefinitely.”
A Vietnam veteran, Hagel is deeply suspicious of long military occupations. While he voted to authorize military action against Iraq, he later supported withdrawing the troops and became a vocal critic of the war and the Bush Administration’s “surge.” In 2005, he compared the Iraq War to the Vietnam War. His criticism drew the ire of fellow Republicans, but he argued, “to not question your government is unpatriotic.”
Hagel was born in North Platte, Nebraska, the oldest of four children. His father passed away when he was only 16. Hagel volunteered for duty in the Vietnam War five years later and was awarded two Purple Hearts. When he returned from the war, the future Defense Secretary finished his education at the University of Nebraska at Omaha with assistance from the GI Bill. He graduated with a degree in history in 1961 and was hired as a staffer on Capitol Hill soon after. Hagel would later work for Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign, and Reagan appointed him deputy administrator of the Veterans Administration. After leaving the public sector in 1982, he made millions as the founder of Vanguard Cellular, a service provider for mobile phones.
Fourteen years later, Hagel ran for the U.S. Senate in Nebraska, beating then-Gov. Ben Nelson to become the first Republican to win a Nebraska Senate seat in 24 years. He was re-elected in 2002 and stepped down at the end of that term. After he left the Senate, Hagel co-chaired the Intelligence Advisory Board for President Obama and served as a professor at Georgetown University.
Hagel steps onto the world stage at a precarious time for the United States. The continuing threats of North Korea and Iran hang over the American government, while actions in Syria have human rights groups crying for an intervention. Hagel has already demonstrated a commitment to bringing troops home from Afghanistan but has adopted his commander-in-chief’s policy of vagueness on details. In addition to challenges abroad, Hagel will face difficult domestic hurdles as he attempts to trim the Defense Department’s budget following sequestration. The confirmation process left Hagel bruised and politically spent, but he emerged as the United States Secretary of Defense. The next chapter of his story is one he himself will pen.
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