Donald Trump's reshuffle has sent reverberations through the Pentagon
Credit: AP
Three staunch loyalists to Donald Trump were named to top defence jobs on Tuesday, a day after the US president fired Defence Secretary Mark Esper.
Among them was a former Fox News commentator who failed to get through Senate confirmation because of offensive remarks he made, including about Islam.
The abrupt changes sent reverberations through the Pentagon as nervous civilian and military personnel waited for the next shoe to drop. And they fuelled worries of a wider effort to drum out anyone considered not loyal enough to Mr Trump.
The unease was palpable inside the building throughout the day over concerns about what the Trump administration may do in the months before President-elect Joe Biden takes office and whether there will be a greater effort to politicise the historically apolitical military.
While radical policy shifts seem unlikely before the January 20 inauguration, the changes could further damage prospects for a smooth transition already hampered by Mr Trump’s refusal to concede his election loss.
Mark Esper was fired as Defence Secretary on Monday
Credit: Reuters
Mr Trump’s move sent a dangerous message to America’s adversaries and dimmed hopes for an orderly transition as Democratic President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office, Democrats said.
"It is hard to overstate just how dangerous high-level turnover at the Department of Defence is during a period of presidential transition," said Congressman Adam Smith, the Democrat who leads the House Armed Services Committee.
James Anderson, who had been acting undersecretary for policy, resigned on Tuesday morning and he was quickly replaced by Anthony Tata, a retired Army one-star general. A short time later, Joseph Kernan, a retired Navy vice admiral, stepped down as undersecretary for intelligence, hastening what had been an already planned post-election departure. Mr Kernan was replaced by Ezra Cohen-Watnick, who becomes acting undersecretary for intelligence.
The departures came on Christopher Miller’s second day on the job as defence chief. Mr Miller also brought in his own chief of staff, Kash Patel, to replace Jen Stewart, who had worked in that job for Mr Esper. Mr Patel and Mr Cohen-Watnick are both considered staunchly loyal to Mr Trump and previously worked at the National Security Council.
Christopher Miller is the new acting secretary of defence
Credit: Reuters
Mr Patel was among the small group of aides who travelled with Mr Trump extensively during the final stretch of the campaign. He also is a former prosecutor in the national security division of the Department of Justice and former staff member on the House Intelligence Committee. In that post, he was a top aide to Rep. Devin Nunes, leading the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Mr Patel was linked in media accounts to efforts to discredit the investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. He moved to the National Security Council in February 2019, and earlier this year, he travelled to Syria for rare high-level talks aimed at securing the release of two Americans who have been missing for years, including journalist Austin Tice.
Mr Cohen-Watnick was a protege of Mr Trump’s initial national security adviser, Michael Flynn, but was replaced in the summer of 2017 by Mr Flynn’s successor, H.R. McMaster, as part of a string of shakeups at the White House and National Security Council.
While the personnel changes added to the tumult in the wake of Mr Esper’s departure, it’s not clear how much impact they could have on the massive Pentagon bureaucracy. The department is anchored by the tenet of civilian control of the military, and much of the day-to-day activities are conducted by career policy experts and military leaders in the US and around the globe who adhere to a strict chain of command.
Also, many of Mr Trump’s policies and defence priorities have already been put in motion by Mr Esper and his predecessors, guided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including the chairman, Army Gen. Mark Milley. All of those military leaders remain in place.
This is Mr Trump’s second attempt to secure the policy job for Mr Tata. Earlier this year, Mr Trump appointed Mr Tata to the post, but the Senate cancelled a hearing on the nomination when it became clear that it would be difficult if not impossible to get him confirmed. Mr Tata withdrew his name from consideration for the job, which is the third-highest position in the department. Mr Trump then appointed Mr Tata to serve in the job of deputy undersecretary.
There has been continuing tumult in the Pentagon’s policy shop. John Rood was forced to resign as undersecretary for policy in February after he drew White House ire for warning against the US withholding aid to Ukraine, the issue that led to the president’s impeachment.
Mr Tata will be "performing the duties of" the undersecretary job, rather than holding the "acting" title. Officials who carry the "acting" title have more authority than those who are "performing the duties of" the job.
According to reports, Mr Tata posted tweets in 2018 calling Islam the "most oppressive violent religion I know of," and he called former President Barack Obama a "terrorist leader" and referred to him as Muslim. The tweets were later taken down.
Свежие комментарии