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Three senior Pentagon officials have submitted letters of resignation just a day after US President Donald Trump put an end to Mark Esper’s tenure as Secretary of Defense.
The US Department of Defence (DoD) has announced that acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy James Anderson, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Joseph Kernan, and Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense Jen Stewart have submitted letters of resignation.
The resignations follow the departure of former secretary of defence Mark Esper, whose position was terminated earlier this week amid reports of a falling out with President Donald Trump.
The exodus has prompted a raft of new appointments beginning with President Trump’s designation of the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) director, Chris Miller, as the acting Secretary of Defense, effective from Monday.
In light of Anderson’s resignation, the acting Secretary of Defense has delegated the responsibilities of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy to Anthony Tata.
As such, Dr Thomas Williams will assume Tata’s former responsibilities as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.
In addition, current acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operation and Low-Intensity Conflict Ezra Cohen-Watnick has been appointed to replace Joseph Kernan as acting Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.
Replacing Jen Stewart as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense is Kash Patel, who currently serves on the National Security Council staff.
Following the announcement of the reshuffle, acting Secretary of Defense Miller commented: “I want to thank Dr Anderson, Admiral Kernan and Jen Stewart for their service to the nation and the Department.
“Over their careers each has contributed greatly to the national defence and the future of the Department of Defense. We wish them the best in their next endeavours.”
Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist and Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Ralph Cacci have retained their positions.
[Related: US Defense Secretary ‘terminated’, replacement announced]
Charbel Kadib
News Editor – Defence and Security, Momentum Media
Prior to joining the defence and aerospace team in 2020, Charbel was news editor of The Adviser and Mortgage Business, where he covered developments in the banking and financial services sector for three years. Charbel has a keen interest in geopolitics and international relations, graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a double major in politics and journalism. Charbel has also completed internships with The Australian Department of Communications and the Arts and public relations agency Fifty Acres.
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