WASHINGTON — Michele Flournoy, formerly the Pentagon’s policy chief and among President Barack Obama’s more hawkish advisers, could be in line to become the first woman to lead the U.S. military, after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s resignation.
Passed over by Obama for the job 20 months ago, Flournoy heads a short list of candidates to direct the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and to help Afghanistan fight the Taliban insurgency.
Other contenders include Ashton Carter, until last year the Pentagon’s No. 2 official, and Robert Work, Hagel’s current deputy.
Sen. Jack Reed isn’t interested in the job, a spokesman said Monday.
Flournoy, among the most senior female officials in Pentagon history, has a long history with Obama. After winning the 2008 election, Obama asked her to co-lead his transition team at the Defense Department.
She then kept a relatively low profile as undersecretary of defense for policy, engaged in efforts to end the war in Iraq, reinvigorate the military campaign in Afghanistan and redesign U.S. defense strategy to deal with budget cuts.
When she left office in December 2011, Flournoy cited strains on her family life after three years in one of the most demanding national security jobs in Washington.
She is married and has three children.
At the same time, Flournoy, who is now 53, said she hoped to return to government service one day.
A person close to Flournoy said she wants to be defense secretary, but has concerns about the job.
