President Trump announced via Twitter on Monday that US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper had been removed from his position and had already been replaced.
President Trump announced Esper’s departure while heralding his replacement Christopher C. Miller: “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 the Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately.”
Trump then added, “Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service”, while also noting that he believes Miller “will do a GREAT job!”
RT reports: Rumors have circulated for months that Esper would either be fired or resign. In June, he publicly disagreed with the president floating the idea of deploying active-duty military to cities dealing with riots stemming from Black Lives Matter protests.
The two have disagreed on other issues too, and Trump even suggested in August that Esper was on his way out. Asked if he had confidence in Esper’s leadership, Trump referred to him as “Mark Yesper” and said he “considers” firing everybody.
“At some point, that’s what happens,” he said.
Esper had served as secretary of defense since June 2019.
Niamh Harris
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