United States President Donald Trump announced via Twitter on Sunday morning, Dec. 23, that Secretary of Defense James “Mad Dog” Mattis would be out of his cabinet post by January 1, 2019.
Trump was not firing Mattis through Twitter. Mattis had submitted his resignation letter on Thursday, Dec. 20. In it he made clear that significant differences of opinion existed between himself and Trump. Those differences concerned US alliances, enemies and management of the US involvement in Syria. They made it impossible for Mattis to remain in his role.
In his letter, the Defense Secretary wrote, “My views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues.”
He continued, “Because you have the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position.”
Mattis is the first U.S. defense secretary in decades to resign over policy differences with a president.
As he explained, Mattis planned his resignation to take effect in late February. This would allow sufficient time for Senate confirmation of his successor as part of an orderly transition.
However, media coverage of the letter — which was swift and intense — frustrated Trump. The media coverage demonstrated that Mattis was no longer willing to provide supervision in the White House, which some have described as a day care center for an increasingly incompetent Trump.
Reaction to the resignation came not only in the United States. As reported by The Hill, Germany’s Defense Minister Ursula Von der Leyen asked the White House on Friday to provide “clarity” about next steps following the resignation.
Another indicator that conditions in Washington are not likely to settle down soon: incoming Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, whom Trump appointed Dec. 14, said on Dec. 23, while appearing on Fox News, that the federal government will probably not be back to normal until well into the new year.
“This is what Washington looks like when you have a president who refuses to go along to get along,” Mulvaney told host Chris Wallace.
This is also what Washington looks like when someone with the maturity of an adolescent occupies the White House.