President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Defense Secretary James Mattis will depart the Pentagon by January 1, a date earlier than anticipated, and will appoint Patrick Shanahan — the agency's number 2 official — as acting Secretary.
The president's announcement, made via Twitter, comes days after Mattis stunned Washington by announcing his resignation, prompted by what the former marine said were policy differences with Trump. Amid tensions with Mattis, the president sent shock waves through the global security establishment by announcing troop drawdowns in both Syria and Afghanistan, moves that Mattis was said to oppose.
Trump tweet
On Saturday, Trump appeared to take a veiled swipe at his former Pentagon chief, saying on Twitter that he gave Mattis the benefit of the doubt when he was booted by the Obama administration.
"When President Obama ingloriously fired Jim Mattis, I gave him a second chance. Some thought I shouldn't, I thought I should," Trump stated. Responding to the former general's resignation letter, in which he suggested the U.S. should hold fast to its global allies and international commitments, Trump said that "allies are very important-but not when they take advantage of [the] U.S."
Defense did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, became the deputy secretary of defense in 2017. A Washington state native like Mattis, Shanahan is responsible for managing the Pentagon's colossal $700 billion defense budget.
He has spent the last year in his role as the No.2 defense official, focused on reforming the internal processes of the Pentagon.
from Top News & Analysis https://cnb.cx/2Cut7pA
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