WASHINGTON — US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel revealed to an old friend his frustrations with the Obama White House just days before he announced his resignation.
According to a statement released Monday by Arizona Sen. John McCain, Hagel met with McCain late last week and did not hold back on voicing his gripes.
Hagel, as his public remarks suggested, disagreed with President Barack Obama's plans for fighting the Islamic State group and other aspects of his approach to global threats, McCain said.
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"I know that Chuck was frustrated with aspects of the administration's national security policy and decision-making process," McCain said.
Hagel and McCain, both Republicans, have a friendship that goes back decades. Hagel was the national co-chairman of McCain's 2000 presidential campaign.
Their friendship was put on hold after McCain and other Senate Republicans hit Hagel hard during his defense secretary nomination hearing. But McCain had signaled to congressional reporters in recent months that the hatchet had been buried.
McCain cryptically suggested the White House might have been too heavy handed for Hagel's liking, a charge other senior national security and foreign policy officials — including former Defense Secretary Robert Gates — have made.
"[Hagel's] predecessors have spoken about the excessive micro-management they faced from the White House," McCain said, "and how that made it more difficult to do their jobs successfully. Chuck's situation was no different."
