Hagel, a decorated combat veteran who branded then-US president George W. Bush’s Iraq troop surge strategy the worst foreign policy blunder since Vietnam, served two terms as a Nebraska senator.
A decision by Obama to pick a Republican to lead the Pentagon would be seen as an attempt to show bipartisanship, although Hagel is seen as a centrist on foreign policy who has broken with his party on several key issues.
The president must also find a new head for the CIA.
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