MOSCOW, November 24 (Sputnik) – US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is resigning, The New York Times reported Monday, citing sources in the administration.
“The [US] president [Barack Obama] made the decision to ask his defense secretary to step down last Friday after a series of meetings over the past two weeks,” the newspaper reported.
Hagel is set to retire due to growing concerns that US lacks a clear strategy to defeat the Islamic State.
According to Reuters, which cited a high-ranking source in the Pentagon, Obama has already accepted Hagel’s resignation.
Hagel's resignation is expected to be announced by the president in a Rose Garden appearance later in the day.
Hagel, a former senator, has served as defense secretary since February 2013.
