Trump Forces Defense Secretary Mattis to Leave by January 1, Will Replace Him With Deputy

By Daniel Politi, Slate

24 December 18

 

resident Donald Trump apparently couldn’t contain his anger any longer. Fuming over the negative coverage that was sparked by the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, the commander in chief is moving forward with a plan to force him to resign nearly two months earlier than planned. Trump took to Twitter Sunday morning to announced that Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan will be taking over as acting secretary of Defense on Jan. 1. “Patrick has a long list of accomplishments while serving as Deputy, & previously Boeing,” Trump wrote. “He will be great!” Mattis had said he would stay in his post until Feb. 28 to ensure a smooth transition.

I am pleased to announce that our very talented Deputy Secretary of Defense, Patrick Shanahan, will assume the title of Acting Secretary of Defense starting January 1, 2019. Patrick has a long list of accomplishments while serving as Deputy, & previously Boeing. He will be great!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2018

Trump’s announcement came shortly after the New York Times reported that Trump had been telling aides he wanted to get rid of Mattis. Although Trump had praised Mattis when he first announced he was leaving, it seems the commander in chief didn’t quite understand how much the outgoing defense secretary had criticized him in his resignation letter. As days passed and the media increasingly characterized the resignation as a rebuke on his policies, Trump reportedly got increasingly mad and wanted him to leave right away. That anger was evident Saturday night, when he wrote on Twitter that he had given Mattis a “second chance.”

When President Obama ingloriously fired Jim Mattis, I gave him a second chance. Some thought I shouldn’t, I thought I should. Interesting relationship-but I also gave all of the resources that he never really had. Allies are very important-but not when they take advantage of U.S.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2018

Trump is apparently fond of Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, at least in part “because he often tells the president that he is correct to complain about the expense of defense systems,” notes the Times.