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Was the US Secretary of Defense removed from the US government or to welcome the “wave of layoffs”?
US President Trump announced on social media on November 9 that Defense Secretary Mark Esper was relieved of his post and Christopher Miller, director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center, would become Acting Secretary of Defense. In this sense, the US media believe that Esper’s firing may be the first in a series of high-level withdrawals after the presidential elections, and that the officials will be removed.
Insider: Trump and Esper have long disagreed
CNN quoted a source on the 9th as saying that just before Trump announced Esper’s firing on social media, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows informed Esper of the news by phone. . Esper responded to Trump in a letter saying he accepted Trump’s decision to fire him.
CNN reported that Esper’s relationship with the White House has been shaky for several months. Since 2019, he has opposed Trump on a number of key issues, constituting an important background to his impeachment by the president.
In June of this year, the death of George Freud, an African American man, sparked anti-racism protests that swept across the United States. Trump claimed he would use active duty troops to crack down on protesters, but Esper told a Defense Department news conference that he did not support the use of active duty troops to quell the protests. The move infuriated Trump and deepened the gap between the two sides.
According to a Washington Post report, Trump often mentioned Esper’s firing during the presidential election, believing Esper was trying to embarrass him and undermine his re-election prospects. In recent months, Esper has rarely seen Trump.
Multiple sources said that as Esper’s relationship with Trump has grown increasingly strained, Esper prepared a resignation letter a few weeks ago in an attempt to “gracefully withdraw” before being fired by the president.
Esper became the United States Secretary of Defense in July 2019. In December 2018, then-United States Secretary of Defense Mattis resigned as Trump prepared to withdraw troops from Syria. From January to June 2019, Patrick Shanahan, then US Under Secretary of Defense, served as Acting Secretary of Defense.
Miller, who will soon serve as Acting Secretary of Defense, has served as an Army Special Forces officer and Pentagon officer, and has served as director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center since August this year. From 2018 to 2019, Miller served as special assistant to the president and counterterrorism adviser to the National Security Council. CNN said that if the defense secretary leaves, the undersecretary of defense generally takes on the acting role. Trump’s appointment of Miller bypassed the second figure in the Defense Department, Undersecretary Norquist.
Esper’s firing indicates that “Pandora’s box has been opened”
Esper’s firing has raised concerns in American politics. Some officials believe that other top national security officials who have angered Trump may become the president’s next target, and the US government may usher in a wave of “layoffs.” CNN commented on this that the significance of Esper’s firing is worth paying attention to, just as “Pandora’s box has been opened.”
