President Donald Trump has fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper less than a week after Election Day and two days after Democrat Joe Biden was projected to win and become the next commander in chief, according to multiple news sources.
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Esper will be replaced in the interim by Christopher Miller, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center.
Trump made the announcement on Twitter shortly before 1 p.m. EST.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows reportedly called Esper to inform him about his termination before Trump tweeted it.
Esper’s dismissal caused some ripples on Capitol Hill, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying Trump’s actions showed the president was “intent on using his final days in office to sow chaos.”
Sen. Mark Warner, the vice chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence committee, remarked "This president can still do a lot of damage between now and January.
Adam Smith, the House Armed Services Committee chairman, also condemned Esper’s firing in an official statement, calling it both “childish” and “reckless.”
The new acting Defense Secretary was seen entering the Pentagon Monday after Trump’s announcement.
Esper was in charge at the Pentagon since June 2019. During his short stint, he often found himself at odds with the president, reports said. It had been long rumored that Esper’s termination was forthcoming because Trump was unhappy with his performance, according to reports.
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Along with the president, national security adviser Robert O’Brien viewed Esper as lukewarm to the president’s military policies, which he rarely defended in public, several administration officials told CNN.
The most visible rift between Esper and the president came in June, when social justice protesters were cleared from outside the White House so Trump could appear in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church for a controversial photo opportunity with a Bible.
There, Trump stood alongside high-ranking military leaders, including Esper, who later called his participation “a mistake” and also resisted Trump’s threat to use the nation’s military to put down protests nationwide.
Esper has also banned Confederate flags at the nation’s military bases and sought to rename bases that honor Confederate leaders, which the president has publicly opposed.
Esper reportedly prepared a resignation letter weeks ago because he expected to be ousted if Trump won reelection, according to NBC News and other sources.
Esper served as secretary of the Army for two years before becoming secretary of defense. He took over the department after the resignation of James Mattis, winning confirmation in the U.S. Senate by a 90-8 vote in July 2019.
This is a breaking news story. Please stay with AJC.com for the latest updates.
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