Tag: Mark Esper

Trump Fires Esper, Hires Miller as Pentagon chief

The Associated Press

by Robert Burns and Lolita C. Baldor   WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday, an unprecedented move by a president struggling to accept election defeat and angry at a Pentagon leader he believes wasn’t loyal enough. The decision was widely expected as Trump had grown increasingly unhappy with Esper over the summer, including sharp differences between them over the use of the military during the civil unrest in June. But the move could unsettle international allies and Pentagon leadership and injects another element of uncertainty to a rocky transition period as Joe Biden prepares to assume the presidency. Presidents who win reelection often replace Cabinet members, but losing presidents have kept their Pentagon chiefs in place until Inauguration Day to preserve stability in the name of national security. Trump announced the news in a tweet, saying that “effective immediately” Christopher Miller, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, will serve as acting secretary, sidestepping the department’s No.2-ranking official, Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist. “Chris will do a GREAT job!” Trump tweeted. “Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service.” In a letter to Trump, Esper referred…

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Pentagon Bans Confederate Flag

The Associated Press

After weeks of wrangling, the Pentagon is banning displays of the Confederate flag on military installations, in a carefully worded policy that doesn’t mention the word ban or that specific flag. The policy, laid out in a memo released Friday, was described by officials as a creative way to bar the flag’s display without openly contradicting or angering President Donald Trump, who has defended people’s rights to display it.

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Neil McCabe Connects the Dots of Esper, Spencer, Gallagher, President Trump, and the Deep State Pentagon

Julie Carr

  In a weekly interview on The Tennessee Star Report Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast live Tuesday morning on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Leahy welcomed One America News Networks own investigative reporter, Neil McCabe to the show to talk about the recent dismissal of Spencer and the ongoing disloyalty of the deep state Pentagon. During the show, McCabe went into detail about how Eddie Gallagher did not murder anyone but actually tried to save a 15-year-old insurgent’s life. He also noted how Esper and Spencer were actually working against one another as Esper maintained defiance to President Trump’s orders. He states, ‘Esper fired Spencer not because he was disloyal to the President. Esper fired Spencer because he was disloyal to Esper as Esper was being disloyal to the President.’ Nearing the end of the segment, Leahy and McCabe addressed details about the ‘Anonymous’ author who’s book is hurried for a Christmas delivery in an alleged response to a Democratic impeachment that’s losing air. Leahy: We are joined now by our very good friend, a One America News Network correspondent in Washington, D.C. Neil McCabe. Neil, good morning. McCabe: Michael, glad to be with you.…

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US Senate Confirms Mark Esper as Secretary of Defense

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by Reuters   WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Army Secretary Mark Esper to be secretary of defense, ending the longest period by far that the Pentagon has been without a permanent top official. As voting continued, the Senate overwhelmingly backed Esper, a former lobbyist for weapons maker Raytheon Co., to be President Donald Trump’s second confirmed leader of the Pentagon. Esper, 55, received strong bipartisan support despite some sharp questioning during his confirmation hearing by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren about his ties to Raytheon and his refusal to extend an ethics commitment he signed in 2017 to avoid decisions involving the company. Warren, a 2020 presidential hopeful, was the only member of the Senate Armed Services Committee to voice opposition to Esper’s confirmation during the hearing. Raytheon is the third-largest U.S. defense contractor. There has been no confirmed defense secretary since Jim Mattis resigned in December over policy differences with Trump. Many members of Congress from both parties have urged the Republican president to act urgently to fill the powerful position. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called on members to support Esper as he opened the Senate on Tuesday morning. “The nominee is beyond qualified. His record…

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US Army Secretary Now Likely Defense Secretary Nominee

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  U.S. Army Secretary Mark Esper will likely be his nominee as defense secretary, President Donald Trump has told reporters. Trump spoke positively about Esper just hours after he announced Patrick Shanahan had withdrawn from consideration, saying the acting defense secretary wants to spend more time with his family. Trump on Tuesday, speaking to reporters before boarding Marine One, praised Shanahan as “a wonderful person.” “I did not ask him to withdraw,” said Trump of Shanahan, who removed his name from consideration after two newspapers (USA Today and the Washington Post)reported Tuesday the Federal Bureau of Investigation was looking into a nine-year-old domestic dispute between Shanahan and his then-wife, Kimberly, as part of a background check before the confirmation hearing. His wife was arrested after punching him in the face, and his son was arrested after a separate incident in which he hit his mother with a baseball bat. Shanahan, in a statement, said “it is unfortunate that a painful and deeply personal family situation from long ago is being dredged up and painted in an incomplete and therefore misleading way in the course of this process. I believe my continuing in the confirmation process would force my three children…

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Rep. Green Says Secretary of the Army Mark Esper Is a ‘Great’ Nominee for Secretary of Defense

Jason M. Reynolds

  U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) told Fox News that Mark Esper is a “great” nominee for Secretary of Defense and mentioned that he was a fellow classmate at West Point even as details emerge of what happened to the nomination of Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan. Shockwaves were felt when President Donald Trump announced that Shanahan would not seek the job on a permanent basis, leading to Esper being nominated. Shanahan withdrew his name after reports surfaced of an alleged domestic abuse incident with his ex-wife almost a decade ago, Bloomberg reported. “It is unfortunate that a painful and deeply personal family situation from long ago is being dredged up and painted in an incomplete and therefore misleading way in the course of this process.,” Shanahan said in a statement. “I believe my continuing in the confirmation process would force my three children to relive a traumatic chapter in our family’s life and reopen wounds we have worked years to heal.” The Trump Administration never submitted formal paperwork needed to start Shanahan’s confirmation to the Senate, Government Executive reported. There were rumors that the president was backing off or that something was delaying the background check. Now that Esper…

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