President Donald Trump announced on Twitter Monday that he had fired Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and that Christopher Miller would become acting secretary "effective immediately."
Esper's increasingly tense relationship with Trump led him to prepare a letter of resignation weeks ago, an attempt to fashion a graceful exit in the widely expected event that the President decided to fire him, several defense sources, including one senior defense official, told CNN.
Esper had been on shaky ground with the White House for months, a rift that deepened after he said in June that he did not support using active-duty troops to quell the large-scale protests across the United States triggered by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. He also said military forces should be used in a law enforcement role only as a last resort.
According to a senior administration official, John McEntee, director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, is spreading the word throughout the administration that if he hears of anyone looking for another job, they will be fired. The news is dismaying to many members of the Trump administration who worry especially about young staffers who will soon need other sources of income given the fact that Trump lost the election.
The White House declined to comment on personnel matters.
Here's the tweet:
Read more here.