However, some defended Oprea, saying he had acted within his legal prerogatives and that it was not Ardelean and the other appointees they objected to, but the fact that they could not place their own supporters in the positions Oprea filled. The affair caused some tension in the coalition government as well: Prime Minister Emil Boc of the PD-L signed Oprea's appointments also without consulting Geoană. Following several days of scandal and with no sign of support from President Traian Băsescu, Oprea resigned his post after three weeks on the job, claiming he had acted "properly and legally" but that the appointments had "disturbed certain people" and he was unwilling to be a "puppet minister". Shortly afterwards, following the party leadership's withdrawal of its political support for Oprea as minister, he resigned as Ilfov County party chairman, and then left the party itself (and the defence policy department presidency) after the leadership initiated moves to expel him, saying he did not wish to subject county party members (most of whom he believed would have continued to stand by him) to "pressures from headquarters". A month later, in February 2009, with Oprea now sitting as an independent, the Chamber unanimously voted to approve him as a member of the defence committee. UNPR leadership and later ministerial assignments Joining the new National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR), he was elected its executive president in May 2010. Meanwhile, he returned to the Boc cabinet in late 2009, as Defence Minister. As such, he drew controversy for using a ministerial helicopter to fly to and from party events. He served until May 2012, including, during the last phase, under Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu. At that point, incoming prime minister Victor Ponta, despite having criticized UNPR members as "traitors" and "undercover officers", reached an agreement with Oprea, who provided parliamentary support to the new government. That December, he was elected to the Senate, and subsequently became deputy prime minister. In January 2014, following the resignation of Radu Stroe, Oprea returned as Interior Minister on an interim basis, and on a permanent one after Ponta formed a new government in March. In June 2015, with Ponta out of the country for knee surgery, Oprea became interim prime minister, serving until Ponta returned early the following month. When Ponta took another leave of absence at the end of July, Oprea again took over as acting prime