Top Candidates to Succeed Hagel Are Longtime National Security Specialists - NYTimes.com: President Obama, working to shift his team’s focus in confronting a raft of national security crises, is considering two former Defense Department officials as successors to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, administration officials said Monday.
Even before Mr. Obama appeared with Mr. Hagel at the White House to announce the Pentagon chief’s departure, officials inside and outside the administration were speculating that Michèle A. Flournoy, a former under secretary of defense who would be the first woman to head the Pentagon, and Ashton B. Carter, a former deputy secretary of defense, would be top candidates for the job.
Both are seasoned national security professionals whose credibility among members of both parties and Defense Department experience would be considered assets in managing the threat from the Islamic State, budget cuts and other challenges.
