Reports: Gates Will Remain at Pentagon

Robert Gates will remain in his post as defense secretary at least through the first year of Barack Obama’s administration, reports ABC News. “It’s a done deal,” an anonymous source told the network today. Obama will reportedly unveil his choice of Gates shortly after Thanksgiving, along with a national-security team that includes Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.

Gates, who has drawn praise from both parties for his handling of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has accepted the offer, Politico notes. President Bush appointed Gates to replace Donald Rumsfeld in 2006, when the Iraqi war effort seemed to be in shambles. Gates is a registered independent who also served as CIA chief under the elder Bush. (More Robert Gates stories.)