Obama to nominate next secretary of defense tomorrow - Washington Post

President Barack Obama will nominate a new defense chief on Friday to replace Chuck Hagel, who is departing the Pentagon as the United States expands its fight against Islamic State militants in the Middle East, the White House said on Thursday.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters the announcement would be made on Friday but declined to say who the president’s nominee would be.

Current and former officials say that Obama will nominate Ashton B. Carter, a physicist and former academic who previously served as the Pentagon’s second highest ranking official, for the job.

Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska, announced that he would depart the Pentagon following weeks of speculation about a rift between the Pentagon leadership and the White House. Hagel, a decorated veteran of the Vietnam war, took over in early 2013 charged with reforming the Pentagon budget and ushering the U.S. military out of a dozen years of war.

But senior officials indicated that Obama wanted a change as the U.S. military broadens its operations in Iraq and Syria against the extremist group that captured a wide swathe of territory in both countries.

Senior lawmakers have indicated their support for Carter, who as deputy defense secretary oversaw the massive Pentagon budget and its weapons procurement.