US Defense Secretary Mark Esper was fired in a tweet on Monday, as President Donald Trump went after a top aide he blamed for not supporting him sufficiently.
Trump said he’s naming Christopher Miller, the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, as acting Pentagon chief.
Esper’s relationship with Trump soured after the Pentagon chief resisted Trump’s inclination to use active-duty forces to quell protests in U.S. cities earlier this year.
Esper’s departure could foreshadow a broader post-election purge of appointees who displeased the president. It also means Trump will have seen the departure of two confirmed defense secretaries in less