Secretary of Defense- Chuck Hagel
The heavily decorated Vietnam War Army infantryman and former Nebraska Republican should have been a shoe-in to succeed retiring secretary Leon E. Panetta. But his harsh assessment of U.S. policy in Iraq and Iran, and controversial statements about the “Jewish lobby” and gays will almost certainly invite a tough line of questioning from Republicans and Democrats alike – although Hagel recently won an important blessing from Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Some Republicans fear that Hagel, at the president’s behest, will cut too much from the Pentagon’s already
shrinking budget.
