The Body Count -- SecDef Mark Esper

A Reoccurring Feature on Who's Jumping Getting Pushed Off Luxury Liner Trump

Donald Trump tweeted today, “Mark Esper has been terminated." It makes zero sense to replace the Secretary of Defense at this point in his presidency, except for the pure joy of satisfying his cruelty and lack of class.

It is the first time in the modern era that a president seeking reelection has removed his Pentagon chief after Election Day. Presidents who win reelection often replace Cabinet members, including the secretary of defense, but losing presidents have kept their Pentagon chiefs in place until Inauguration Day to preserve stability in the name of national security. Esper's firing is unsettling for the Pentagon and a source of concern for international allies and partners.

Esper’s strained relationship with Trump came close to collapse last summer during civil unrest that triggered a debate within the administration over the proper role of the military in combatting domestic unrest. Esper’s opposition to using active duty troops to help quell protests in Washington, D.C., infuriated Trump, and led to wide speculation that the defense chief was prepared to quit if faced with such an issue again.

The Body Count -- Jim Miller

A Reoccurring Feature on Who's Jumping Off Luxury Liner Trump

In an extraordinary resignation letter, provided to The Washington Post, James Miller resigned from his post at the Pentagon’s Defense Science Board.

Miller, a former undersecretary of defense for policy, cited Secretary of Defense Mark Esper’s participation in President Donald Trump’s Monday night photo op in front of St. John’s Church.

The resignation comes as the nation braced for its eighth night of protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd. Here is part of the letter:

When I joined the Board in early 2014, after leaving government service as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, I again swore an oath of office, one familiar to you, that includes the commitment to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States ... and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same.”

You recited that same oath on July 23, 2019, when you were sworn in as Secretary of Defense. On Monday, June 1, 2020, I believe that you violated that oath. Law-abiding protesters just outside the White House were dispersed using tear gas and rubber bullets — not for the sake of safety, but to clear a path for a presidential photo op. You then accompanied President Trump in walking from the White House to St. John’s Episcopal Church for that photo.

President Trump’s actions Monday night violated his oath to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” as well as the First Amendment “right of the people peaceably to assemble.” You may not have been able to stop President Trump from directing this appalling use of force, but you could have chosen to oppose it. Instead, you visibly supported it.

Anyone who takes the oath of office must decide where he or she will draw the line: What are the things that they will refuse to do? Secretary Esper, you have served honorably for many years, in active and reserve military duty, as Secretary of the Army, and now as Secretary of Defense. You must have thought long and hard about where that line should be drawn. I must now ask: If last night’s blatant violations do not cross the line for you, what will?