Senate confirms Ashton Carter as Secretary of Defense

Ashton Carter
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Capping off a relatively smooth confirmation process, the Senate on Thursday voted 93-5 to approve Ashton Carter as the nation's next Secretary of Defense.

The 60-year-old Carter will replace Chuck Hagel, who last year announced his intent to step down as the Obama administration began to shift its national security strategy to better confront emerging global crises. Though Hagel said he made the decision to resign on his own, the Obama administration privately signaled he'd been forced out, with one official saying Hagel "wasn't up to the job."

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.