James Mattis Forced Out Early By Trump, Will Leave Position By New Year’s Day
President Donald Trump has taken over U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis’ own decision to resign, forcing him out of the position two months earlier than he planned, CNN has reported.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Mattis announced his resignation last week on Thursday, December 20, following the president’s decision to remove ground troops from Syria. His resignation letter was made available to the public, and in it, he wrote that he did not believe his views aligned with those of the president any longer, and felt it “right for me to step down from my position.”
Mattis wrote that he would end his tenure in the White House after two months into the new year on February 28, 2019, giving the president ample time to find a successor and to overall ensure an orderly transition. However, it seems that his time has now been cut short.
In a mid-morning tweet on Sunday, December 23, President Trump announced his decision for acting secretary of defense — the “very talented” — Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, who will assume his new role on January 1, seemingly reporting that Mattis would also now take this date as his new last day in office, as opposed to the later date in February that he originally planned on.
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
According to CNN, a source close to the matter has also confirmed that January 1 is now expected to be Mattis’ last day, and that he will leave without making it a big to-do in order to “prevent further exacerbating tensions between himself and Trump.” The news source wrote that a “handful” of reporters were briefed on the decision by a senior administration official, and that Mattis was informed a little more than a week shy of his new leave date by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday morning.
Breaking News: Angry over a rebuke by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, President Trump told administration officials that he would force Mattis out by Jan. 1 https://t.co/lm7IAXQ3Q4
— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 23, 2018
The president’s abrupt decision to force the defense secretary out early comes after sources close to the situation have said that Trump was “mad at the extensive coverage given to Mattis’ resignation,” with some evidence of this being right on the president’s Twitter account.
On Thursday, December 20, the president announced General Mattis’ resignation on social media, writing that he would be “retiring, with distinction, at the end of February” and thanked him for the “tremendous progress” made during his tenure. According to the Hill, these tweets came before the president had actually read Mattis’ resignation letter.
….equipment. General Mattis was a great help to me in getting allies and other countries to pay their share of military obligations. A new Secretary of Defense will be named shortly. I greatly thank Jim for his service!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2018
But his tone shifted just two days later on Saturday, December 22, with tweets that showed more frustration than praise for the defense secretary, reminding his audience that former President Barack Obama “ingloriously fired” Mattis, but it was Trump that decided to give him 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
This tweet was then followed up by the president’s Sunday morning announcement of Mattis’ new final day in office as well as his replacement.
