Chuck Hagel appears headed to confirmation as the next Secretary of Defense. But talk about walking into a tough situation. How does a guy bloodied by tough hearings get started? We spoke with Retired Air Force Gen. Chuck Wald, former deputy commander of the European Command, and now the Defense business leader at Deloitte. He said Hagel’s first order of business will be to establish his relationship with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The co-chairmen of President Obama’s bipartisan deficit-reduction commission have teamed up again in bid to stop sequestration. Former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson and former Clinton White House staffer Erskine Bowles unveiled a plan for $2.4 trillion in cuts over 10 years. Bernie Becker is a staff writer at The Hill newspaper. He joins with more on Simpson- Bowles, the sequel.