Chuck Hagel “And I Solemnly Swear to Get Along With Senate Republicans…” Feb. 27, 2013 Share Read Later DOD photo / Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeleyChuck Hagel, left, takes the oath of office as the nation's 24th defense secretary from Michael Rhodes, the Defense Department's director of administration and management, as Hagel's wife, Lilibet, holds a Bible at the Pentagon Wednesday morning.