Sen. McCain: Hagel 'Very Frustrated' With Obama Policies

Arizona Sen. John McCain has blasted the Obama administration for forcing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to quit, saying "he was up to the job."

In an interview with KFYI news radio in Phoenix, the GOP senator said that Hagel was "very, very frustrated" as a member of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet, according to Bloomberg.

"Already the White House people are leaking, 'Well he wasn't up to the job," said the incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "Believe me, he was up to the job."

McCain, who will be vetting Obama’s nominee to replace Hagel next year, said that he had just talked to Hagel on Monday morning and also revealed that the secretary had visited his office just last week.


"He was very frustrated," said the senator. "We have no strategy to combat [the Islamic State], we have no way of helping the Ukrainians, we refuse to give them weapons to defend themselves, we watch the turmoil in the Far East with the Chinese asserting themselves, we see a lack of U.S. influence unlike — unknown in history."

Talking about the administration’s reason for dumping Hagel after just two years, McCain said, "They're gonna say, 'Well, it was time for a change,' and all that. But I can tell you, he was in my office last week, and he was very frustrated.

McCain said that in choosing a successor to Hagel the committee will be looking for a "strategy in order to combat ISIS which is now a direct threat to the United States of America."


McCain and Hagel had served together in the Senate when the latter was a Nebraska senator, and they were also combat veterans who both fought in the Vietnam War, according to The Hill.

"We've had our disagreements, but Chuck Hagel is an honorable man," McCain said.

Hagel is stepping down following a rocky tenure in which he has struggled to break through the White House's insular team of national security advisers.

During a White House ceremony Monday, Obama said that he and Hagel had determined it was an "appropriate time for him to complete his service."

Related Stories:

• Boehner Calls for Shift in ISIS Strategy as Hagel Replaced
  
• Analysis: Obama 'Neutered' Hagel's Ability to Shape Foreign Policy