Trump announces Christopher C. Miller as acting defence secretary
US

Trump announces Christopher C. Miller as acting defence secretary

- President Trump is effecting changes in his government days after losing the US presidential election

- The American president has fired one of his top appointees

- In a message on Twitter, Trump announced a new appointment and wished the former appointee well

PAY ATTENTION: Win a prize of N115,000, N75,000 or N38,000: participate in Big Naija Independence contest by Legit.ng

President Donald Trump has announced Christopher Miller as the new acting secretary of defense in the United States of America.

The announcement comes days after Trump lost his re-election bid to President-elect, Joe Biden.

The US president announced the new appointment via his Twitter page on Monday, November 9.

Trump announces Christopher C. Miller as acting defence secretary
Mark Esper has been fired by President Trump. Photo credit: @nypost
Source: Twitter

He tweeted:

“I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. Miller, the highly respected Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (unanimously confirmed by the Senate), will be Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately.
“Chris will do a great job! Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service.”

Read also

See what Donald Trump was spotted doing while Joe Biden was declared US president-elect (photo)

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read the best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app

Some reports had earlier indicated that Esper had already prepared a resignation letter in anticipation of being ousted by Trump after the election.

Esper has had a rocky relationship with Trump after openly resisting the US president’s consideration of using active-duty troops to quell June riots.

He’s also at odds with Trump on renaming military bases that honor Confederate leaders.

NBC News reports that Esper drafted the letter but did not say when he intends to submit it.

The network reported that Esper is helping members of Congress draft legislation that will strip names of Confederate leaders from military bases and plans to work with Congress to put language in the annual National Defense Authorization Act so the name changes will be written into law.

Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman had said in reaction:

Read also

US election: Twitter flags Trump for tweeting misleading news

“Speculation about potential resignations of cabinet officials is a well-worn, D.C.-insider, post-election parlor game.”

Trump’s displeasure with Esper has been apparent for months.

Trump had said in reaction to the rumours of a cold relationship with Esper:

“I consider firing everybody. At some point — at some point, that’s what happens.”

In September, Trump took another apparent shot at Esper, who is a former executive at weapons manufacturer Raytheon.

His words:

“The top people in the Pentagon probably aren’t [happy] because they want to do nothing but fight wars so all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy.”

Meanwhile, former Nigerian aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has expressed optimism that Trump will still be declared as the winner of the US presidential election.

Fani-Kayode made his stance known in an article he wrote on the just concluded polls.

Read also

US election: 21-year-old disowns mother after declaring support for Trump

Covid-19: Trump fulfills promise to Nigeria, presents 200 Ventilators to health ministry | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Jerrywright Ukwu avatar

Jerrywright Ukwu Jerrywright Ukwu is an Abuja-based senior political/defence correspondent. He is a graduate of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos and the International Institute of Journalism in Abuja. He is also a member of the Nigeria Union of Journalists. He spends his leisure-time reading history books. He can be reached via email at jerrywright39@yahoo.com.