Chuck Hagel pushed out over handling of ISIS and Ebola crisis President Barack Obama announced Hagel's resignation in the White House State Dining Room on Monday News reports say he asked the Pentagon chief to step down on Friday, though Obama said today it was Hagel's idea to leave One official confided that 'he wasn't up to the job' while another said he was never close to the president Famously contradicted Obama by emphasizing dangers from ISIS after Obama had mocked the terror army as a 'jayvee team' Likely replacement choices include former Under Secretary Michèle Flournoy, who would be the first female Pentagon chief Hagel will stay on until a replacement is confirmed by the Senate By David Martosko, US Political Editor and Francesca Chambers for MailOnline Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has submitted his resignation following pressure from President Barack Obama, multiple sources confirmed Monday morning. Administration officials said Obama made the decision to ask his defense secretary, the only Republican in his cabinet, to step down Friday after a series of meetings during the past month. The scapegoating move followed disastrous midterm elections for the president and renewed pressure from the GOP to take a tougher military line in Iraq, Syria and Iran. In a statement to the press on Monday morning, Obama kindly said it was Hagel's decision to leave his post, however. Calling Hagel an 'exemplary' Defense Secretary, Obama said he had provided a 'steady hand' as the administration modernized the military's strategy and budget and dealt with crises from ISIS to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. OFFICIAL: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, has resigned his post, President Barack Obama told reporters on Monday Visibly upset: An emotional Hagel appeared to be tearful as he hugged Obama after the announcement Hagel was the first enlisted combat veteran to lead the Department of Defense but earned very little support from his fellow Republicans in the US Senate Let me just say that Chuck is and has been a great friend of mine. I've known him, admired him and trusted him for nearly a decade since I was a green-behind-the- ears freshman senator and we were both on the Senate Foreign Relations committee,' Obama told reporters gathered in the White House State Dining Room. The Commander in Chief said if there's one thing he knows about Hagel, 'it's that he does not make this or any decision lightly.' 'This decision does not come easily to him, but I consider myself extraordinarily lucky to have had him by my side for two years,' Obama said. Hagel, 68, was brought into the Pentagon from the U.S. Senate to manage a continuing troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and oversee a shrinking Defense Department as the Obama administration managed budget reductions required by automatic cuts in the 2013 federal budget. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest deflected reports on Monday that Hagel was forced out, casting the decision as a joint one between Hagel and Obama. 'The two of them arrived together at the determination that new leadership should take over' at the Pentagon,' Earnest told reporters during a press briefing. 'I think there were genuinely warm feelings between the two men,' he later said. The New York Times was first to report on the stunning shakeup inside the administration, following months of wobbly military policy in the Middle East, as the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) continues its murderous march. One senior official at the Pentagon told an NBC News correspondent that Hagel had lost the president's confidence in carrying out his role at the helm of America's military. 'He wasn't up to the job," the official said. A White House official told reporters Monday, 'In October, Secretary Hagel began speaking with the president about departing the administration given the natural post-midterms transition time. Those conversations have been ongoing for several weeks. Arizona Sen. John McCain said in a radio interview this morning that Hagel was 'very, very frustrated' by the end of his tenure. The White House disputed that claim on Monday afternoon, however, telling reporters that given McCain's relationship with the administration, the source couldn't be considered 'impartial.' It also pushed back on claims that Hagel as asked to leave because he wasn't able to effectively perform the duties of the office. 'He has been the right person for the job, and he has performed to the president's expectations in a way... [that] will contribute to the ongoing effort that has made the US military the most powerful force for good in the world,' Earnest told reporters. The White House spokesman did acknowledge, however, that the tasks before the Pentagon head now require a different type of expertise than the ones Hagel was hired to tackle. When Secretary Hagel was first nominated for this job.....the threat that was posed by ISIL was not nearly as significant as it is now. Changes in the situation have caused the situation in Iraq and Syria to 'rise up to near the top of the priority list' for the Department of Defense, he continued, noting that Hagel was brought in to deal with DOD's budgetary challenges. The priorities of the department, or at least of the new secretary, have changed given changes in the international community. It doesn't mean that Secretary Hagel hasn't done an excellent job of managing these crises as they have popped up,' he said, but it does mean 'that another secretary might be better suited to meet those challenges - that was something the two of them agreed.' Obama said Hagel, the only Republican in his cabinet, was an 'exemplary' Defense Secretary and 'is and has been a great friend of mine' since he was a 'green behind the ears senator' serving on the Foreign Relations Committee Hagel was the first enlisted combat veteran to lead the Department of Defense. He took the position in February 2013 after the departure of longtime Democratic Party insider Leon Panetta. He was the sole Republican in Obama's cabinet and the only center-right voice on his national security team. Obama said Monday that Hagel 'has been no ordinary Secretary of Defense' because of his history in the military.' 'He understands our men and women like no other, because he's stood where they stood. He's been in the dirt, and he's been in the mud, and that's established a special bond,' Obama said. He sees himself in them, and they see themselves in him. Obama also thanked Hagel 'on a personal note' for taking a job in his administration despite their political differences. 'We come from a different parties, but in accepting this position, you sent a powerful message, especially to folks in this city, that when it comes to our national security and caring for our troops and their families, we are all Americans first,' the president said. In his own remarks, Hagel said he believed that in his short time in the Obama administration he had seen the nation put 'on a stronger course toward security, stability and prosperity.' With Thanksgiving just around the corner, Hagel said he wanted to let Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, who also attended today's announcement, know 'how grateful I am to both of you for leadership and your friendship and for giving me this opportunity to serve our country once again.' Hagel then committed to remaining in his position until a new Pentagon chief is confirmed. 'I will stay on this job and work just as hard as I have over the last couple years, every day, every moment, until my successor is confirmed by the United States Senate,' he pledged. Obama is rumored to have asked Hagel to step down, but today he said told reporters it was Hagel's idea to leave after less than two years in the position Politico reported that an official said the president will name a new secretary 'in short order.' The White House wouldn't give a timetable for a nomination on Monday. Quick confirmation could present a unique challenge, however, with Senate Republicans measuring for new drapes in the majority leader's office and preparing to take over every committee chairmanship. An aide to a Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee told MailOnline that the GOP would push for a 'stop and smell the roses approach' to confirming Hagel's successor. Republicans won't support any effort to quickly confirm a replacement before the end of the current 'lame duck' congressional session. That will leave the fate of Obama's pick in the hands of a Republican majority after his political opponents picked up nine Senate seats three weeks ago. New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer said Monday that he expects the new Senate to fast-track those hearings. 'The number of national security issues we face around the world is immense, and I urge my Republican colleagues to act quickly in confirming his successor,' Schumer said in a statement. Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, however, said the pick itself was as important as the timeline. 'I strongly urge the president to nominate someone who can secure the broad base of bipartisan support needed to serve effectively in this critical position,' Cornyn said Monday. As our nation faces a growing array of security threats - from the terror army of ISIL to a soon-to-be nuclear-armed Iran to a resurgent Russia invading sovereign nations - the Commander-in-Chief continues to send mixed messages to the American people and thousands of troops serving overseas. Three people are reportedly on a short list to be the next secretary, including a woman. Michèle Flournoy is a former under secretary of defense whose name was mentioned along with Hagel's after Panetta departed. She has never served in the active military, but was President Bill Clinton's Russia and Ukraine expert during the 1990s - an expertise that the Obama administration may find useful in the president's last two years in office as Russian President Vladimir Putin rattles sabers overseas. TOUGH ROAD: Hagel earned scorn from Republicans who saw him as a weak turncoat and disdain from Democrats who thought he was an outsider who couldn't be trusted Flanked by Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, Hagel said he would stay on as Pentagon chief until his yet-to-be named replacement could be confirmed by the Senate Bowing out: Hagel shakes hands with the president in the White House State Dining Room after promising to 'work just as hard as I have over the last couple years, every day, every moment, until my successor is confirmed by the United States Senate' Flournoy was the highest ranking woman in the Pentagon's history until her return to the private sector in early 2012. That distinction is now held by civilian analyst Christine Fox, who became Acting Deputy Secretary a year ago. Fox was the inspiration for Kelly McGillis' character in the blockbuster Tom Cruise film 'Top Gun.' A Democratic Party official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Monday that there will be pressure brought on the president to nominate Flournoy. 'There are very vocal segments of the party who will demand it loudly,' the party official said. And it would be a fantastic development. Obama already has several 'firsts' under his belt in appointing cabinet secretaries. His attorney general, Eric Holder, is the first African-American to hold that position. His first Homeland Security secretary, Janet Napolitano, was the only woman to hold that post. Former Washington state Governor Gary Locke was the first Chinese-American secretary of commerce, serving from 2009 to 2011. And former Energy Secretary Steven Chu was the first Nobel Prize winner to serve in a White House cabinet. He shared the physics prize in 1997, 12 years before Obama himself won the Nobel Peace Prize. New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand hinted in a statement that she wants someone in Hagel's chair who will make the treatment of women in the military a serious priority. 'I look forward to working with his successor on issues where we must do better such as ending the scourge of sexual assaults in our military, integrating women into combat roles and finally getting our troops home from Afghanistan,' she said. Gillibrand stressed that she 'did not agree with Secretary Hagel on a number of issues' - a rare parting shot from a Democrat. Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Jack Reed is also in the running to replace Hagel; he's a former officer with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division who has served in Congress since 1997. Reed was among 23 senators who voted against President George W. Bush's 2002 Iraq War resolution, however, claiming that 'it was a flawed strategy that diverted attention and resources away from hunting down Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.' Ashton B. Carter, a former deputy defense secretary, is the third. He was the Pentagon's technology, research and logistics chief until last year. Hagel's departure caps a tumultuous tenure during which White House insiders said he lacked the kind of personal connection with, and access to, President Obama that cabinet secretaries enjoyed. As a result the Republican former senator often clashed with fellow members of the national security team, a White House official told MailOnline earlier this year. 'He's never going to be a "Friend Of Barack,"' the official said, 'so he'll just never have the president's ear the way Holder does.' ODD MAN OUT: Hagel (left) was the only Republican in Obama's cabinet and never seemed to relish the job despite his life-long love for America's military His contentious confirmation battle ended with a 58-41 approval vote, the narrowest ever for a defense secretary, with only four Republicans taking his side. 'On paper, Hagel looked perfect for the job - a war hero, a former Senator, a successful entrepreneur,' Lexington Institute Chief Operating Officer Loren Thompson told Bloomberg News. But his confirmation hearings did not go well, and his temperament proved ill-suited to such a politically sensitive job.