NOTICIAS

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today issued the following statement regarding the resignation of Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel:

“I appreciate Secretary Hagel’s service to our country, from his time in the Army decades ago in Vietnam through his tenure as secretary of defense. I have many concerns with President Obama’s national security policies and it is not clear to me that all of this administration’s failings fall at Secretary Hagel’s feet. I hope that this is just the beginning of a shakeup of the President’s national security team to bring fresh perspectives to the unprecedented challenges we as a nation face. 

“The next secretary of defense will take over a department that is suffering greatly from the impact of sequestration. Our military readiness and ability to modernize and innovate to meet future challenges are being put at risk. We need a bold leader who will speak frankly to the White House and Congress about the need to end sequestration and get the department back on track. We also need someone capable of developing a strategy to defeat ISIL and consolidate the gains our men and women in uniform have made in Afghanistan. Instead of basing military strategy solely on politics, our next secretary of defense needs to be willing to tell the President and the American people the tough truth about what will be required to succeed in those conflicts. 

“I hope that whomever the President nominates to succeed Secretary Hagel meets these qualifications.”