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In this Oct. 1, 2014 file photo, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel briefs reporters at the Pentagon.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is stepping down under pressure from President Barack Obama's Cabinet, senior administration officials said Monday, following a tenure in which he has struggled to break through the White House's insular foreign policy team.

Hagel is the first senior Obama adviser to leave the administration following the sweeping losses for Obama's party in the midterm elections. It also comes as the president's national security team has been battered by multiple foreign policy crises, include the rise of the Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.

While Obama has sought to consolidate foreign policy decision-making within the White House, advisers have privately criticized Hagel for not being more proactive and engaged in Cabinet meetings and other national security discussions. Hagel also angered White House officials with a recent letter to national security adviser Susan Rice in which he said Obama needed to articulate a clearer view on the administration's approach to dealing with Syrian President Bashar Assad.

A senior defense official said that Hagel submitted his resignation letter to Obama on Monday morning and the president accepted it. Hagel, 68, agreed to remain in office until his successor is confirmed by the Senate, the official said.

The official said both Hagel and Obama "determined that it was time for new leadership in the Pentagon," adding that they had been discussing the matter over a period of several weeks.

Obama was to announce Hagel's resignation Monday. The president is not expected to nominate a new Pentagon chief Monday, according to a second official.

The officials insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter by name ahead of Obama's official announcement.

Among the leading contenders to replace Hagel is Michele Flournoy, who served as the Pentagon's policy chief for the first three years of Obama's first term. Flournoy, who would be the first woman to head the Pentagon, is now chief executive officer of the Center for a New American Security, a think tank that she co-founded.

Hagel is a Republican who served as senator from Nebraska and became a critic of U.S. involvement in Iraq. After Obama nominated him to succeed Leon Panetta as Defense Secretary in his second term, Hagel struggled through a disastrous confirmation hearing that raised early concerns about him within the White House.

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Defense Secretary Hagel resigning from Obama cabinet

WA News

West Australian Racing and Gaming Minister Terry Waldron is expected to announce his retirement from Cabinet.

Mr Waldron, who is also sport and recreation minister, is holding a press conference about his future at 9am.

The 63-year-old is expected to move to the backbench but remain the member for Wagin.

Mr Waldron was elected to that role in 2001, the same year he was appointed deputy leader of the WA National Party.

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Premier Colin Barnett recently told frontbenchers that they would have to take a back seat up to a year prior to the 2017 state election if they don't plan to run.

Deputy Premier and Health Minister Kim Hames has already announced he will retire from politics at the next state poll.

While there's speculation Police Minister Liza Harvey will become second-in-charge, Mr Barnett said on the weekend that Cabinet would discuss who would take on the position, and that he didn't have a preference for Dr Hames' replacement.

Mr Barnett plans to contest the 2017 election.

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Terry Waldron expected to retire from WA Cabinet

WASHINGTON As if there wasnt already enough to fight about in Congress, the departure of Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is setting up a big nomination fight in the Senate. Whoever is named to replace Hagel will have to make it through a Republican-controlled Senate, where leaders have pushed for a more aggressive fight against the Islamic Stategroup.

The situation in Washington is becoming so toxic that virtually anything requiring congressional approval in the next two years will be a wearying process. The fight to get a new defense secretary approved could take months.

President Barack Obama is "going to have a hard time getting any nominee through," Rep. Buck McKeon, the outgoing chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told CNN.

And while the House wont have any say in the process -- only the Senate weighs in on nominations -- the anger from conservatives in the chamber who dont want to cooperate with the president is sure to be felt across the capitol. McKeon cited the failing relationship between the president and the White House, saying since the midterm election when the GOP won control of Congress, Obama has made no effort to improve the relationship. Instead, hes only made it worse -- as with the executive orders on immigration announced last week.

Sen. John McCain, who is expected to be the chairman of the Armed Services Committee when Republicans take over in January, said in a radio interview Monday morning confirming a replacement for Hagel will be the top priority for the new Congress. That is the earliest a nomination process could begin since Congress has only 10 working days left in December.

McCain, a military hawk, will be the key figure in moving the nomination. As the head of the committee that will hold nomination hearings, he will set the times for all hearings, dictate the rules of debate and control when the nominee could move to a full Senate vote. But a vote likely wouldnt come until McCain has had a chance, along with the other members of the Armed Services Committee, to grill the nominee on what happens next with ISIS and in Syria.

There is a lot of speculation the departure of Hagel will come with a shifting strategy in Syria. Republicans have called for combat troops to be sent, instead of the current situation involving U.S. airstrikes, plus troops training Syrian and Iraqi fighters.

"It is imperative that the next secretary of defense possess a sharp grasp of strategy, a demonstrated ability to think creatively and the willingness and ability to work with Congress," Senate Majority Leader-elect Mitch McConnell said.

Obama will need at least four Republicans to approve whomever he nominates -- maybe 14 if Republicans change the rules back. Frustrated by the number of nominees blocked in the last Congress, Sen. Harry Reid changed the needed votes from 60 to 50. Republicans, when they take control, will have to decide how many votes will be needed going forward.

Hagel is currently the only Republican in Obama's cabinet. But Senate Republicans weren't very keen on him from the beginning and enthusiasm hasn't grown.

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Hagel Replacement: Senate Fight Likely Over Obama Nominee For Defense

Australian cricketer George Bailey with Sport and Recreation minister Terry Waldron at the new Perth Stadium site. Picture: Dione Davidson/The West Australian

Sports Minister Terry Waldron is expected to announce today that he will retire and move to the backbench.

Mr Waldron, also the Racing and Gaming Minister, is holding a press conference this morning.

The 63-year-old is expected to move to the backbench but remain the member for Wagin.

Mr Waldron was elected to that role in 2001, the same year he was appointed deputy leader of the WA National Party.

Premier Colin Barnett recently told frontbenchers that they would have to take a back seat up to a year prior to the 2017 state election if they don't plan to run.

Deputy Premier and Health Minister Kim Hames has already announced he will retire from politics at the next election.

While there's speculation Police Minister Liza Harvey will become second-in-charge, Mr Barnett said on the weekend that Cabinet would discuss who would take on the position, and that he didn't have a preference for Dr Hames' replacement.

Mr Barnett plans to contest the 2017 election.

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Waldron expected to retire from WA Cabinet

Australian cricketer George Bailey with Sport and Recreation minister Terry Waldron at the new Perth Stadium site. Picture: Dione Davidson/The West Australian

Sports Minister Terry Waldron is expected to announce today that he will retire and move to the backbench.

Mr Waldron, also the Racing and Gaming Minister, is holding a press conference this morning.

The 63-year-old is expected to move to the backbench but remain the member for Wagin.

Mr Waldron was elected to that role in 2001, the same year he was appointed deputy leader of the WA National Party.

Premier Colin Barnett recently told frontbenchers that they would have to take a back seat up to a year prior to the 2017 state election if they don't plan to run.

Deputy Premier and Health Minister Kim Hames has already announced he will retire from politics at the next election.

While there's speculation Police Minister Liza Harvey will become second-in-charge, Mr Barnett said on the weekend that Cabinet would discuss who would take on the position, and that he didn't have a preference for Dr Hames' replacement.

Mr Barnett plans to contest the 2017 election.

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Waldron tipped to retire from Cabinet

Outgoing US defence secretary Chuck Hagel: reported to have resigned under pressure from a White House eager to project more assertive responses. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Chuck Hagel, president Barack Obamas defence secretary, has stood down after less than two years in the job in a sign of increased unease at the White House on tackling growing international crises.

Mr Hagel was reported to have resigned under pressure from an administration eager to project more assertive responses. He is the first member of Mr Obamas cabinet team to stand aside since the heavy midterm election losses for the Democratic Party.

Announcing his resignation, Mr Obama described Mr Hagel, the only Republican in his cabinet, as an exemplary defence secretary who had overseen major changes in the American defence forces.

The display of mutual praise from Mr Obama and Mr Hagel at the public announcement of his unexpected resignation stands in contrast to the behind-the-scenes tensions and the presidents public differences with a defence secretary who was often criticised for being too indecisive.

The laid-back former Republican senator from Nebraska was seen as being ill-equipped to tackle the militant Muslim group Islamic State, given his opposition to the Iraq war and his stewardship of the withdrawal of US troops in Afghanistan and the sharp reduction in defence spending.

Mr Obama and Mr Hagel appeared divided on the threat posed by IS. Months after the president dismissed the radical fighters as jayvees or junior varsity players against US professionals, the defence secretary said that IS had grown into something more than just a terrorist group.

White House officials were said to have been angered by a recent letter that Mr Hagel sent national security adviser Susan Rice, in which he said that Mr Obama needed to articulate a clearer view on the administrations approach to dealing with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

While Mr Obama ruled out sending ground combat troops to fight IS in his September 2014 strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy the group, Mr Hagel said this month that combat troop deployments may have to be considered if recommended by US military chiefs.

Mr Hagel struggled to secure support in Congress for Mr Obamas policies, and the president was hurt by the message in the November 4th elections that he was failing to cope with immigrants at the Mexican border, the spread of Ebola and IS, and tensions with Russia.

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Obamas defence secretary pushed out

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