Secretary of the Army John McHugh notified President Barack Obama that he planned to step down no later than Nov. 1, according to a Defense Department release. McHugh has been in talks with Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Deputy Secretary Robert Work for several weeks about his desire to leave. He has been the Army secretary since Sept. 21, 2009.
In making the announcement, McHugh thanked the President and Carter, as well as members of the Army, saying it was a “tremendous honor” to serve as secretary.
“Secretary McHugh has been a tremendous public servant for decades, and he has helped lead the Army through a period of challenge and change,” Carter said, in the release. “There will be much time in the coming months to appropriately celebrate his many accomplishments, but for now I will just say that every soldier is better off because of his hard work and vision, and so is the country.”
Prior to becoming the Secretary of the Army, McHugh represented New York from 1993-2009 in the House of Representatives. Before that, he was a member of the New York Senate.