Trump forces Mattis out two months early
WASHINGTON 24 Dec (ANA) - Donald Trump is forcing his defence secretary James Mattis to step down on 1 January, almost two months ahead of schedule, with the president seemingly weary of the criticism he has faced over Mr Mattis’ departure.
The move appears to be payback for the public rebuke the retired general gave the president in his resignation letter over Mr Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from the conflict in Syria. Not least because Mr Trump tried to portray Mr Mattis leaving as a “retirement” when the letter released shortly after the announcement made it clear that was not the case.
Mr Trump issued the news in typical fashion, via Twitter. The president said that Patrick Shanahan, the current deputy at the Department of Defence, would become acting head of the Pentagon from the start of the new year.
Praising the “long list of accomplishments” of Mr Shanahan, without mentioning any in particular, and calling him “very talented”, Mr Trump did bring up his business background at Boeing. Mr Shanahan had a long history with the company before joining the administration in 2017.
Mr Trump has clearly been stewing over Mr Mattis’ resignation letter – which laid out a departure date of 28 February – over the weekend. He has faced a backlash from both Republicans and Democrats over the loss of Mattis at the end of a week where the White House has never looked more chaotic.
As well as losing two national security officials, the stock market is on track for its worst month since the 1930s. That is a source of embarrassment for the president given that much of the praise he has received during his time at the White House has been linked to the rising markets and the economy in general.(ANA)
FA/ANA/24 December 2018------