President Donald Trump has sacked Defence Secretary Mark Esper, announcing on Twitter that the top US official has been “terminated”.
Trump, who lost to Joe Biden in the recent Presidential election, though yet to concede, is still empowered to make decisions, hence the sack.
Read Also: Donald Trump Refuses To Concede To Joe Biden, Vows To Challenge ‘Illegal’ Votes
He stated that Christopher Miller, who is the current head of the National Counterterrorism Center, will take on the role immediately.
His tweets read;
I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. Miller, the highly respected Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (unanimously confirmed by the Senate), will be Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2020
…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
Esper’s relationship with President Trump had been on shaky ground for months, a rift that deepened after he said in June that he did not support Trump’s decision to use active-duty troops to quell the large-scale Black Lives Matter 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.
Following the clash, it was widely-speculated that the president would fire the defence secretary, although on Monday President Trump gave no reason for his dismissal.
Esper has also disagreed with Trump over the president’s dismissive attitude towards North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato).
President Trump has fired a significant number of his officials and advisers during his tenure, often using Twitter to announce the dismissal.
Esper‘s predecessor was Jim Mattis, who resigned in 2018 over differences with the president including about the war in Syria.
