WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee, released the following statement on the Defense Secretary stepping down:

“Secretary Rumsfeld is exhibit ‘A’ of the President’s failed Iraq policy.  It now appears that he has decided to ‘cut and run’ instead of facing a new Congress to whom the Administration must answer on what went wrong in Iraq and how we can now change direction.”