Who wants to be Secretary of Defense?

A week has passed since Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced his resignation, and since that time President Obama has yet to select a nominee to replace him.

Many leading candidates have taken themselves out of the running, with Michèle Flournoy, one of the leading contenders, who had served as undersecretary of defense for policy early in the Obama administration, quickly removed herself from consideration.

Flournoy, stated “I spoke with President Obama and removed myself from consideration due to family concerns,” but had speculated she wanted more autonomy and freedom of action that was denied the Chuck Hagel. The other aspect is she didn’t want to take the job for only a brief period, and would see if the position is available in a potential Democratic administration, preferably if it’s Hillary Clinton, who she supported in the past.

Another potential candidate quickly removing his name was Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who wants to continue serving in the Senate.

“Senator Reed loves his job and wants to continue serving the people of Rhode Island in the United States Senate,” Reed spokesman Chip Unruh told the Providence Journal. “He has made it very clear that he does not wish to be considered for secretary of defense or any other Cabinet position. He just asked the people of Rhode Island to hire him for another six-year term and plans to honor that commitment.”

The challenge for the president is that any top tier nominee will not want to subject themselves to the constant meddling from the White House political operators who clearly have the president’s ear on national security policy.

This will be the presidents fourth Secretary of Defense in six years and a common theme has emerged is that all faced micromanagement from White House political operatives who have little foreign policy and national security experience overruling the Pentagon.

The previous Defense Secretaries Robert Gates and Leon Panetta wrote in their books of the constant meddling by the White House into Pentagon operations.

The Washington Times reported on a trip to Afghanistan during President Barack Obama’s first term, Defense Secretary Robert Gates was stunned to find a telephone line at the military’s special operations headquarters that linked directly back to a top White House national security official.

“I had them tear it out while I was standing there,” Gates said earlier this month as he recounted his discovery. “I told the commanders, ‘If you get a call from the White House, you tell them to go to hell and call me.’”

The Times continued to report, to Gates, the phone in Kabul came to symbolize Obama’s efforts to micromanage the Pentagon and centralize decision-making in the White House. That criticism later would be echoed publicly and pointedly by Gates‘ successor, Leon Panetta.

Hagel was chosen out of his opposition to maintaining forces in Iraq, and Afghanistan, and agreed with the president on most national security issues.  Both had cultivated a friendship while serving in the Senate, and it was Hagel who had accompanied the president to Iraq and Afghanistan before becoming president.  It didn’t hurt much that Hagel was a Republican and thought to be closer to the president’s inner circle of White House advisors, of course this never materialized.

On Sunday, Bob Woodward of the Washington Post suggested, “One name that’s been floated around, he is not going to be happy to hear this, is Colin Powell…Somebody who served — as the chief military adviser in the first Gulf war, when he was chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Secretary of State, somebody who’s been the national security advisor.”

Would Powell want the job if offered?

The nation faces critical challenges abroad with ISIS, China, Iraq, Iran, continued turmoil in the Middle East, the crisis in Ukraine, and contentious adversary in Russia and a host of other issues, a capable Secretary of Defense will be crucial in this role.

The question who wants this job with challenges abroad and meddling from White House political operatives, the president needs to find someone with stature to relay confidence, but I am not sure he will be able to.