and a warning the white house is in for a tough fight. he s long severed the ties with the republican party. this is an in your face nomination by the president. if hagel is nominated, it is very difficult to imagine a circumstance to support his confirmation. politico reports five different groups that could hamper the nomination. why is the president sticking with hagel. nbc s first read team says there are two big reasons, quote, one, he likes the idea of a man who wore the uniform and will not intimidated by the generals at the pentagon. and two, with the budget fight dominating and issue of downsizing on the table, what better person to have leading the downsizing argument than a former republican senator? joining me now from the pentagon is nbc news chief white house political correspondent jim miklaszewski. a ton of reaction coming in.