Trump fires defense secretary Mark Esper

WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump said he had “terminated” Defense Secretary Mark Esper offering an unceremonious exit for the Pentagon chief after public policy clashes.

President Donald Trump’s pick to replace Esper arrived at the Pentagon about an hour after the president tweeted his decision, signaling he may use his final months in office after defeat at the polls to settle scores within his administration.

Trump had split with Esper over a range of issues and was particularly angered by his public opposition to Trump’s threats to use active-duty military forces this summer to suppress street protests over racial injustice after police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Democrats reacted with alarm, saying Trump’s move sent a dangerous message to America’s adversaries and dimmed hopes for an orderly transition as President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office.

“The abrupt firing of Secretary Esper is disturbing evidence that President Trump is intent on using his final days in office to sow chaos in our American Democracy and around the world,” said House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Trump said on Twitter that Christopher Miller, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, was taking over as acting secretary of defense. “Mark Esper has been terminated,” Trump wrote in a tweet, adding that Miller would be acting secretary “effective immediately.”

Miller arrived at the Pentagon building just an hour or so after Trump’s announcement before the Pentagon itself had even issued a statement acknowledging Esper’s dismissal.

Esper had long been preparing for his resignation or dismissal following last week’s election, particularly if Trump were to win a second term in office. In a letter to the Defense Department issued on Monday evening, Esper said he was stepping aside aware that “there is much more we could accomplish.”

Esper commended the military for remaining “apolitical”, which Trump’s opponents saw as an implicit criticism of the president’s attempts to portray the military as his constituency amid defense budget hikes.

Trump has had an uneasy relationship with the Pentagon where Esper and top brass have repeatedly sought to avoid being seen as a political instrument of the Trump administration.

Esper’s predecessor Jim Mattis quit in 2018 over policy differences with Trump including on Syria. Mattis in June criticised Trump as the “first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people – does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us.”

He also split with Trump on issues including Esper’s desire to shield Alexander Vindman, then a lieutenant colonel working at the White House, from retaliation over his testimony in Trump’s impeachment inquiry.