Chuck Hagel Secretary of Defense Nomination Becomes Official, Obama Picks Former Republican Senator to Head Department of Defense

After a flurry of speculation in the press, President Obama officially nominated former Republican senator Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense.

"Chuck Hagel is leader our troops deserve," said Obama during a press conference Monday afternoon.

Obama pointed out that Hagel's appointment would be historic, as he would be the first formerly enlisted soldier to head the Department of Defense. He would also be the first secretary wounded in combat, as well as the first Vietnam veteran. Hagel received two Purple Hearts for wounds received while serving in Vietnam.

"Chuck knows that war is not an abstraction," Obama said. "He understands that sending young Americans to fight and bleed in the dirt and the mud is something we only do when it's absolutely necessary."

Hagel was a Republican senator who served with Obama before the president was elected to higher office in 2008. "Chuck represents a bipartisan tradition we need more of in Washington," Obama said, in a not-so-subtle dig at a gridlocked Congress.

Obama also praised Leon Panetta, the current Secretary of Defense who is retiring.

Hagel's nomination could spark a tough nomination fight, as Senate Republicans have indicated they have worrisome questions about Hagel's commitment to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the security of the state of Israel.

Hagel has come under fire for many comments he has made that run counter to Republican policies.

In 2009, Hagel opposed the troop surge in Afghanistan, saying, "I'm not sure we know what the hell we are doing in Afghanistan."

In 2011, Hagel expressed concerns that the military he hopes to oversee had gotten too big. "The Defense Department, I think in many ways, has been bloated," Hagel said. "So I think the Pentagon needs to be pared down."

Hagel has also been critical of the "Jewish lobby," which he says has "intimidated lawmakers," comments detractors see as thinly-veiled anti-Semitism.

Still, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell insisted Republicans would give their old colleague Hagel a chance to demonstrate his fitness for the position.

He's certainly been outspoken in foreign policy and defense over the years," McConnell said on ABC's "This Week."

"The question we'll be answering, if he's the nominee, is: Do his views make sense for that particular job? I think he ought to be given a fair hearing, like any other nominee. And he will be," said McConnell.

In addition to Hagel, the president also nominated Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Adviser John Brennan as CIA director, finally giving that agency a permanent head after David Petraeus stepped down in the wake of a scandal caused by an extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.