Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced his resignation a week before the White House wanted him to,
CNN reports.
The White House wanted Hagel to wait until this week, when it had a replacement ready to announce, but Hagel insisted on leaving Nov. 24 when
it became apparent he was being pushed out, CNN reported Tuesday.
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"Once the secretary saw that he would have to go, he wanted to move quickly," a source told the cable news channel. Hagel had reportedly undergone months of frustration with the administration and wanted to "at least control his departure," CNN was told.
Hagel, a former Republican senator, was just as eager to extricate himself from the White House as it was to get rid of him, said another CNN source. Hagel reportedly talked to former senators from both parties about whether there was any way he could remain on the job, and decided there was not.
Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona told radio station News Talk 550 in Arizona that Hagel was frustrated with aspects of the administration's national security policy and decision-making process.
"His predecessors have spoken about the excessive micro-management they faced from the White House and how that made it more difficult to do their jobs successfully," McCain said. "Chuck's situation was no different."
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