President Donald Trump has fired Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and announced an acting secretary to fill the position.
...Chris will do a GREAT job! Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2020
Mark Esper fired five months after saying “I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act” amid nationwide protests over the summer.
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) November 9, 2020
He has not held a press conference in the Pentagon briefing room since.
Esper reportedly saw his firing coming and prepared a letter of resignation last week.
At odds with the president and fearing he’ll be shown the door, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper planned his exit with a pre-election resignation letter.
Without quoting sources directly, NBC News on Thursday cited unnamed defense officials as saying Esper drafted an undated resignation letter before Election Day because he feared he would be fired by President Donald Trump once the final tally was recorded.
Esper likely won't be the last firing. FBI Director Christopher Wray has been on thin ice for months.
Wray and Esper have been the top two on the firing list, according to several WH officials.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) November 9, 2020
I don’t know what report current Director of the FBI Christopher Wray was reading, but it sure wasn’t the one given to me. With that kind of attitude, he will never be able to fix the FBI, which is badly broken despite having some of the greatest men & women working there!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2019