Trump fires Esper, the first in an expected purge
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday became the first high-profile Cabinet member fired by President Donald Trump in what is expected to be a purge of security officials following the election of former Vice President Joe Biden.
Trump announced Esper’s firing in a tweet Monday, saying that his third pick for Pentagon leader would be replaced by Christopher Miller, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, “effective immediately.”
“Chris will do a GREAT job!” Trump tweeted. “Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service.”
Trump and the White House gave no reason for the firing, but Esper had struggled to navigate between his role leading the U.S. military and meeting the president’s demands for political loyalty, so much so that even Trump derided Esper as a yes-man, dubbing him “Yesper.”
But Esper was one of several officials who months ago fell out of favor with the president over disagreements about the politicization of national security and intelligence.
In recent months, Esper noticeably distanced himself from Trump, usually an unforgivable sin to the president. Esper said publicly he did not support using active-duty troops to confront racial-justice protesters this summer, as Trump had threatened. Trump reportedly had to be talked out of firing Esper at the time.
Shortly before the election, reports surfaced that Esper was preparing to resign, though his office late last week insisted he had no plans to leave.
In a Military Times interview Nov. 4, Esper sought to throw off the “Yesper” albatross, saying there were others in the administration who were more fawning toward the president.
