Hindustan Surkhiyan Desk: Days after abrupt resignation by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, US President Donald Trump said that he was replacing Mattis two months earlier than had been expected, in a move which officials said was driven by Trump’s anger at Mattis’ resignation letter. As per a report in the Reuters, a senior White House official said that the President was highly upset by the attention being given to Mattis’ resignation letter.
On Thursday, Mattis had announced his resignation after Trump’s sudden announcement of withdrawing troops from Syria and Afghanistan. He had rebuked Trump’s foreign policy in his resignation letter.
Mattis has criticised Trump for failing to value America’s closest allies, who fought alongside the US in both conflicts.
Trump announced that Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan would take over for Mattis on an acting basis on January 1. In a tweet, Trump called the former Boeing Co executive “very talented and said about Shanahan “He will be great!”
The official said Trump was expected to pick a nominee for defense secretary over the next couple of weeks.
Mattis’ resignation has come as a reflex to Trump’s decision of pulling out troops from Syria and Afghanistan. The US President’s decision attracted widespread criticism from the lawmakers, think-tank community and experts.
