Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is said to be stepping down from the Pentagon under pressure from the Obama Administration because of problems with the Administration's national security policy, but he still had a long and storied career while at the Pentagon.
In case you were wondering, here are some of the top five most notable moments of Chuck Hagel's career at the Department of Defense.
1. Chuck Hagel Tries to Get Congress to Work on Global Warming
In this clip, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel tries to convince Congress in October that the midterm elections would enable people to "work together" on national security issues and "global warming."
“We’ve got the Congress that can’t work together... But we need all of our institutions functioning including the Congress to deal with these great issues because they have long-term consequences. Global warming - I mean, every facet that we see out there today is rolling back on us in some way."
2. Hagel Goes Against The Grain on Transgenders Serving In The Military
Hagel says "he's open" to most transgenders serving in the military in this interview with George Stephanopoulos.
3. "I'm Not The Legal Person Here, But I Usually Read"
Lawmakers questioned Hagel about the Bergdahl deal when he responded with a
"It was a very unique set of dynamics that we were dealing with number one, and on the precedent-setting side of this, I’m not the legal person here, but I do occasionally read. I don’t think that there were any precedents set by this. as far as i know from the past wars and how we have always gotten our prisoners back or attempted to get them back, time of war or after a war, we can get into all of the appropriate categorizations of who are combatants and who we were with war at and who were terrorists."