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According to a Pentagon statement, the top officials who have stepped down are: Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, James Anderson; the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, Joseph Kernan; and the Chief of Staff of the Secretary of Defense, Jen Stewart.
The Pentagon civilian leadership resigned this Tuesday 10-N after United States President Donald Trump wilted Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday, who opposed sending military units to quell racial unrest.
According to a Pentagon statement, the top officials who have stepped down are: Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, James Anderson; the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, Joseph Kernan; and the Chief of Staff of the Secretary of Defense, Jen Stewart.
The note explains that Anderson submitted his resignation letter to Trump on Tuesday and that his departure took effect today, thus assuming his responsibilities as Defense Undersecretary for Politics, Anthony Tata, who had previously worked in that section. of the Pentagon as a high-ranking official.
According to the text, Kernan also delivered his letter informing him of his resignation this Tuesday, although, according to the Department of Defense, he had been planning this for months.
His duties as Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security are assumed by Ezra Cohen-Watnick, who until now had been acting Deputy Secretary for Low Intensity Conflicts.
Like the other two officials, Stewart’s resignation took place on Tuesday and he will be replaced as Chief of Staff of the Defense Department by Kash Patel, who has served on the White House National Security Council staff.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Patel is a fervent advocate of the Trump administration’s causes.
His arrival at the Pentagon is an indication to some that with him the White House has one foot on top of the Defense Department.
The position of Chief of Staff of the Secretary of Defense is the most important position reserved for civilians in the Pentagon, because it sets the agenda of the Secretary of Defense.
For its part, the foreign policy media, which cited three sources familiar with these movements, indicated that in the case of Anderson, who worked for the George W. Bush administration (2001-2009), it was a dismissal after a “tumultuous relationship” with the Trump White House.
His successor, Tata, is a Trump loyalist, a former Fox News contributor, and has championed conspiracy theories in the past. He will now serve as the Pentagon’s chief policy officer, after he was dismissed from the Senate seat last summer for his Islamophobic and conspiratorial remarks.
The Department of Defense noted in its memo that following Monday’s appointment of the Director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center Chris Miller as interim Defense Secretary immediately went to work and that Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist will remain in The charge.
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