President Obama announced his nomination of former GOP Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel for his next Secretary of Defense at some point on Monday, as conservatives prepare for grueling hearings to block his nomination.

 

Hagel has been the rumored presumptive nominee for weeks, and the Republican Party’s dismissive reaction to his potential nomination put in doubt the Obama administration’s willingness to finally pick him.

Hagel is a bit of an outsider when it comes to his own Republican Party: he’s less inclined to intervene militarily abroad, favors a more diplomatic and less belligerent approach to countries like China and Iran, and has criticized the Israel lobby’s disproportionate influence in Congress.