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WASHINGTON – Two days after confirming his defeat in the presidential election, President Donald Trump announced yesterday on Twitter the resignation of Defense Secretary Mark Esper. Without specifying the reasons, the president said that the current director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Christopher Miller, will command the Defense on an interim basis until the end of his term. Trump has yet to acknowledge the victory of Democrat Joe Biden and, in addition to launching a judicial offensive to question the results in the main states where he was defeated, he blocked the process of institutional transition to the government that he will take office on January 20.
Secretary Esper has been in office since July 2019 and has even earned the nickname “Yesper” for carrying out all of the president’s orders. But the relationship between the two has rapidly deteriorated since June, amid protests against racism in the United States. At a request from Trump that the military be used to contain the facts, Esper objected, saying it was a last resort.
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Another point of friction between Esper and the chief was the initiative to rename military facilities and equipment that today bear the names of people linked to the Confederates who fought against the end of slavery in the American Civil War. The president was against the measure.
In addition to Esper, further layoffs are expected in the coming days, a portrait of how the president does not intend to transition peacefully. The public resignation, often via Twitter, is seen as a kind of punishment for his opponents. According to the Politico website, Esper was notified of the resignation before the post was made.
Transition stopped
In addition to punishing former allies, federal agencies promise to hamper the work of Biden’s team. In a message obtained by the Politician, those responsible for the transition from the Democratic side ask the General Services Administration, a federal body, to give them the green light so that they have access to the resources destined to the transfer of power from the current government to the elected , including funds and access to federal documents and buildings.
“Although there are still legal disputes, the result is clear enough that the transition process begins now,” the text says. “We ask the Trump administration to immediately begin the post-election transition process and for the Biden team to be able to use the resources available under the Presidential Transition Act.”
The agency’s refusal contradicts similar processes in the past, including the transition between the administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
So far, most of the Republican Party has openly supported allegations that the election is undefined, pointing to still-open legal disputes, but that analysts believe cannot affect the outcome of the polls. On Sunday, Senator Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Senate Justice Committee, asked the president not to accept defeat. On Monday, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reaffirmed that he did not recognize Biden’s victory.
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“President Trump has a 100% right to request an analysis of allegations of wrongdoing and consider his legal options,” said the senator, shortly after meeting with Attorney General William Barr in the Senate.
Soon after, Barr issued an internal note authorizing federal prosecutors to review allegations of vote counting irregularities.
“(Investigations) can be carried out if there are clear and apparently acceptable allegations of wrongdoing that, if true, could potentially affect the outcome of a federal election in a state,” reads the text, obtained by the Associated Press.
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In the text, Barr also stated that these complaints should be treated with “great care,” but that “fanciful or unconvincing” claims should not serve as the basis for federal investigations. Until now, the Republican campaign’s legal strategy to challenge the defeat has been based on lawsuits in state courts. States have until December 8 to resolve election-related problems.
Closed party
Just before Barr’s statement, the Trump campaign filed a new lawsuit alleging that the postal voting system in Pennsylvania, where he was defeated by Biden, did not meet the same criteria for transparency and reliability as voting in person. The campaign statement does not provide practical evidence to support the allegations.
Trump spent the day making suggestions that fraud had occurred in Wisconsin and Nevada, two states where he was defeated, and said he will win in Georgia, where Biden is ahead, but Republicans have called for a recount. The party’s refusal to accept the results is a sign of how the president imprinted his mark on the acronym and how it should influence American politics for many years. .
