United States Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel resigned.

Chuck Hagel is stepping down from his position, according to the New York Times who cite officials from the Obama administration.

A senior administration official subsequently confirmed to Business Insider that Hagel would resign. They said Hagel would announce his decision alongside the president at 11:00 a.m.

“A successor will be named in short order, but Secretary Hagel will remain as Defense Secretary until his replacement is confirmed by the United States Senate,” the official said.

The Times characterized Hagel’s resignation as a response to criticism of the Obama administration’s handling of several major recent global threats.

“His removal appears to be an effort by the White House to show that it is sensitive to critics who have pointed to stumbles in the government’s early response to several national security issues, including the Ebola crisis and the threat posed by the Islamic State,” the Times reported.

The US-led fight against the jihadist group Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) has been hampered corruption in the Iraqi military and a lack of coherent US strategy in Syria that has hobbled the large international coalition that joined the effort.

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