Donald Trump fires US Defence Secretary Mark Esper
US President Donald Trump fired Secretary of Defence Mark Esper on Monday, two days after losing his bid for re-election to former vice-president Joe Biden and with little more than two months remaining in his presidency.
"Mark Esper has been terminated," Trump wrote on Twitter. "I would like to thank him for his service."
Replacing him as active secretary of defence will be Christopher Miller, director of the US National Counterterrorism Centre, Trump wrote.
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Miller, a combat veteran and a former senior counterterrorism official at the Pentagon, was sworn in to his position at the National Counterterrorism Center just under three months ago.
"Chris will do a GREAT job!" Trump wrote.
Trump's firing of Esper so soon after the election and so close to the end of his presidency - which Trump has so far not publicly acknowledged is coming to an end - is a dangerous one, said Representative Adam Smith, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and a Democrat from Washington state.
"In the national security community, it is well known that periods of presidential transition leave our country exposed to unique threats," Smith said in a statement. "Until President-elect Biden is sworn into office next January, it is imperative that the Pentagon remain under stable, experienced leadership."
"It has long been clear that President Trump cares about loyalty above all else, often at the expense of competence, and during a period of presidential transition competence in government is of the utmost importance," Smith said.
Christopher Miller, director of the National Counterterrorism Centre, testifies before a House Homeland Security Committee on September 17. Photo: AFP alt=Christopher Miller, director of the National Counterterrorism Centre, testifies before a House Homeland Security Committee on September 17. Photo: AFP
Miller will be Trump's fourth defence secretary.
It is unclear if Trump will move to formally nominate Miller for the position or leave him as an acting secretary. Even if Miller is nominated, it is also unclear if the US Senate would rush to confirm him with little more than 10 weeks left until inauguration day on January 20.
Acting secretaries do not have to be confirmed by the Senate and can serve for only 210 days. Observers say because they do not have to go through Senate confirmation, there is a risk they will feel more beholden to the president, and thus less likely to offer honest advice that the commander in chief may not want to hear.
Trump had clashed with Esper over the use of military personnel to quash civil rights protests over the summer.
At the height of the domestic protests, Esper faced widespread condemnation after he and other top officials walked with Trump outside the White House, immediately after law enforcement officers had tear-gassed and removed peaceful protesters from the area.
The president had walked through the cleared area to a church, where he posed for photographs holding a Bible.
After that, Esper publicly contradicted Trump over the president's desire to invoke an 1807 law known as the Insurrection Act, which would have allowed active duty military troops to crush the protests. Trump was reported at the time to have been upset that Esper conveyed "weakness".
In August, Trump referred to Esper as "Mr. Yesper".
President Donald Trump is flanked by US Attorney General William Barr (left) and US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper as they walk from the White House to at photo-op at St John's Church after the area was cleared of protesters on June 1. Photo: AFP via Getty Images/TNS alt=President Donald Trump is flanked by US Attorney General William Barr (left) and US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper as they walk from the White House to at photo-op at St John's Church after the area was cleared of protesters on June 1. Photo: AFP via Getty Images/TNS
In an interview conducted last week and published on Monday by the Military Times, Esper disputed the idea that he was only a yes-man for the president.
"My frustration is I sit here and say, 'Hm, 18 cabinet members. Who's pushed back more than anybody?' Name another cabinet secretary that's pushed back," he told the Military Times. "Have you seen me on a stage saying, 'Under the exceptional leadership of blah-blah-blah, we have blah-blah-blah-blah?'"
Esper also reportedly disagreed with the president over whether it was appropriate to name American military bases after Confederate generals, who had seceded and fought against the United States in the Civil War. NBC News reported last week that Esper was planning to help Congress write legislation to remove their names.
Esper was reported in recent days to have already prepared a resignation letter, but it had been unclear if Trump would go ahead with firing him so close to the end of his term. He was confirmed by the Senate in July 2019 by a vote of 90 to 8.
Additional reporting by Owen Churchill
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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