“Why do you let us wander?” asks the prophet Isaiah of the Lord in the first reading this Sunday. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, characterized by Obama administration officials as having wandered off message in his criticisms of White House defense policies, bowed to pressure and submitted his resignation Monday after less than two years in the job

Hagel will remain at the Pentagon until Obama can pick a replacement, who must then be confirmed by the Senate. President Obama formally announced the change Monday in a late-morning appearance at the White House. He said Hagel approached him last month and concluded that “it was an appropriate time for him to complete his service.” Neither Hagel nor the president gave a specific reason for the decision, and Obama gave no hint that he had asked Hagel to stay.

In brief remarks, Hagel said that serving as defense secretary “has been the greatest privilege of my life.” As the event concluded, Obama reached over to give him an awkward-looking hug.

Afterward, White House officials said Obama had lost confidence in Hagel’s ability to oversee the war against the Islamic State and U.S. military operations in Iraq and Syria.

Disagreements between the Pentagon and White House have been spilling into the open. In late October, administration officials leaked the fact that Hagel had written a tough memo to national security adviser Susan E. Rice, blasting the White House’s strategy for Syria. That squabble came one month after Obama appointed a retired general, John R. Allen, as his envoy in charge of assembling a coalition against the Islamic State—a job that some Pentagon officials saw as diminishing Hagel’s role.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that Hagel’s Syria memo “did not have any effect” on his departure. He said Hagel was picked for the job in large part to manage defense spending cuts and other bureaucratic reforms, but that with the rise of the Islamic State and other crises, Obama decided that “another secretary might be better suited to meet those challenges.”

Homily hint: We can be thankful we live in a nation where transitions of power can occur at press conferences rather than through military coups. Only the due diligence of an informed citizenry will protect our freedoms from demagoguery. Do your part and stay informed.

Source: An article by Craig Whitlock and Missy Ryan for The Washington Post