Senator Chuck Hagel declined to
endorse his party's likely presidential nominee, John McCain, and
said he would consider serving as secretary of defense in a
Barack Obama administration.
Hagel, who last year considered a White House run as an
independent, said he would remain a registered Republican: ``I
don't know forever, but right now I'm not considering changing my
registration.''
``I don't have any plans to endorse any candidate,'' Hagel,
61, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television's ``Political
Capital with Al Hunt,'' to be broadcast today.
Because Hagel has been a critic of the Bush administration,
his name often surfaces as a high-level appointee for both
parties. Hagel said he would have a duty to consider a request to
serve from any president including as secretary of defense in an
Obama administration.
``I would have to consider it,'' Hagel said.
