On 18 October 2014, he was appointed as the Defence Minister of Iraq. In August 2016, al-Obeidi was voted out of power through a no-confidence vote in the parliament, with majority of lawmakers voting against him over allegations of corruption. He is the first incumbent defence minister to receive a no-confidence vote in Iraq after the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Othman Ghanm was appointed to succeed him as the interim Defence Minister by the Iraqi government on 29 August 2016.