DM Monitoring
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump abruptly fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper, sending shockwaves through Washington. “Mark Esper has been terminated,” Trump tweeted. “I would like to thank him for his service.” The announcement came only days after a Pentagon spokesman said Esper “has no plans to resign, nor has he been asked to submit a letter of resignation.”
Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, reportedly called Esper to give him a heads-up that the president’s tweet was going to be sent out. In a letter to Trump on Monday, Esper said he accepts the president’s decision to replace him as he serves “the country in deference to the Constitution,” while stressing his efforts to keep the Pentagon “out of politics.”
Esper, 56, began to lead the US Department of Defense in mid-2019 after serving as secretary of the Army. During his tenure at the Pentagon, Esper played a major role in implementing the Trump administration’s national security policies and mobilizing military resources to help the country address the coronavirus pandemic. However, he was at odds with the White House on several occasions over domestic issues. This summer, when demonstrations against police brutality and racial injustice swept across the country and Trump threatened to deploy active-duty troops to respond to violence arising from the events, Esper held a press conference in Pentagon making clear his opposition to the idea.
