Pentagon chief Mark Esper was fired by President Donald Trump on Monday, with the administration appointing Christopher C. Miller to take his spot atop the Department of Defense (DOD).
Trump announced Esper’s termination on Twitter.
“I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. Miller, the highly respected Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (unanimously confirmed by the Senate), will be Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately,” Trump wrote in a Twitter post. “Chris will do a GREAT job! Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service.”
I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. Miller, the highly respected Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (unanimously confirmed by the Senate), will be Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2020
The president did not provide a reason why Esper was fired. He was appointed by Trump in 2019 before he was nearly unanimously approved by the Senate in a 90-8 vote.
Miller was performing the “Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (ASD) for SO/LIC and is former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for Special Operations and Combating Terrorism (SOCT),” according to the Defense Department’s website. “From March 2018 through December 2019, Mr. Miller served as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism and Transnational Threats at the National Security Council (NSC). In this position, Mr. Miller was responsible for strategic-level policy making and implementation, and support to senior NSC and White House leadership.”
Last week, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told news outlets that despite rumors and unconfirmed reports of Esper’s ouster or resignation, Esper has no plans to resign.
“He continues to serve the nation as the secretary of Defense at the pleasure of the president and is working on the irreversible implementation of the National Defense Strategy,” Hoffman said at the time. “The speculation about potential resignations of Cabinet officials is a tiresome, well-worn, DC-insider, post-election parlor game.”
Some members of Congress called on Trump to retain Esper.
“For the good of our country and the brave men and women in uniform, I hope [Esper] will continue to serve for the remainder of the Trump presidency,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told Politico earlier this month.
Esper replaced James Mattis, who resigned after disagreeing with the Trump administration’s move to withdraw troops from Syria. Esper, 56, had been serving as Army secretary when Trump picked him in July 2019.
From The Epoch Times
