Tag: Trump Defense Secretary

Trump’s Defense Secretary Moves to Shed His ‘Yes Man’ Reputation

After a year of being overshadowed by others, Mark Esper is trying to prove he’s not a pushover.

Mark Esper scanned the list of officers up for promotion until he found the one he was looking for: Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the star witness in the impeachment inquiry who famously told Congress that President Donald Trump’s July 25 phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart undermined U.S. national security.

The Defense secretary knew that approving Vindman’s promotion could put him at odds with the White House, which had mounted a retaliation campaign to force the Army officer into retirement.

Esper signed the papers anyway. Continue reading.

Navy secretary fired over handling of Eddie Gallagher case

Axios logoDefense Secretary Mark Esper asked for Navy secretary Richard Spencer’s resignation on Sunday after learning about a private proposal Spencer made to the White House involving disgraced Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, a Pentagon spokesperson told the Washington Post.

The big picture: President Trump set off a storm last week when he reversed Gallagher’s demotion, which came after he was convicted for posing with the corpse of a dead Islamic State militant in 2017. Trump then tweeted on Thursday that Gallagher should not be removed from the SEALs. According to the Post, Spencer circumvented Esper and privately told the White House that he would ensure Gallagher would be able to retire as a SEAL as long as White House officials did not intervene in the case.

  • The New York Times reported on Saturday that Spencer and a top admiral had threatened to resign if Trump blocked the Navy’s plans to expel Gallagher from the SEALs. Spencer denied the report.
  • AP reported Sunday that the White House had informed the Navy it did not intend to intervene in the proceedings against Gallagher.

What they’re saying: Trump tweeted on Sunday night after the news broke, “I was not pleased with the way that Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s trial was handled by the Navy. He was treated very badly but, despite this, was completely exonerated on all major charges. I then restored Eddie’s rank.”

View the complete November 24 article by Zachary Basu on the Axios website here.

Democrats and some Republicans question Trump’s vetting process after Shanahan withdrawal

Senators from both parties are asking why they did not have advance notice of the domestic violence incidents in Patrick Shanahan’s family that ended his bid to become President Trump’s permanent defense secretary, calling his nomination’s collapse the latest example of shoddy White House vetting.

“Look what happens when you don’t vet,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters Tuesday. “This Shanahan fiasco shows . . . what a mess the administration’s national security and foreign policy is.”

With his withdrawal and resignation, Shanahan joins several other former candidates for prominent Cabinet and military leadership positions in the Trump administration who bowed out after compromising details came to light. That list includes Trump’s first picks to lead the Army and

View the complete June 18 article by Karoun Demirjian on The Washington Post website here.

Trump says Shanahan out as Defense secretary nominee

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has withdrawn from consideration to lead the Pentagon on a permanent basis, President Trumpannounced Tuesday.

Trump said in a pair of tweets that Shanahan wanted to “devote more time to his family.” The messages were posted shortly after the publication of multiple media reports describing past domestic violence incidents involving Shanahan’s family.

“Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, who has done a wonderful job, has decided not to go forward with his confirmation process so that he can devote more time to his family,” Trump tweeted.

View the complete June 18 article by Rebecca Kheel and Jordan Fabian on The Hill website here.