quote:

But Mr. Esper’s downfall had been expected for months, after he took the rare step in June of disagreeing publicly with Mr. Trump and saying that active-duty military troops should not be sent to control the wave of protests in American cities. The president, who had threatened to use the Insurrection Act to do exactly that, was furious, officials said.

Mr. Esper’s spokesman tried at the time to walk back the damage, telling The New York Times that Mr. Trump did not want to use the Insurrection Act either, or he would have invoked it already. “We fail to see the disconnect,” said Jonathan R. Hoffman, a spokesman for Mr. Esper.

White House officials disagreed.

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U.S. defense officials said James Anderson, the top policy adviser at the Pentagon, submitted his resignation Tuesday, a day after President Donald Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

Anderson has been the acting undersecretary for policy since June. Previously he served as the deputy undersecretary since his confirmation for that job in August 2018.

quote:

The Pentagon on Tuesday elevated three Trump loyalists to powerful positions a day after the sudden termination of Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and following the resignations of multiple senior officials in the Defense Department.

The latest revelation comes as President Donald Trump has rejected the results of last week’s election. Trump has not conceded to Democrat Joe Biden, who on Saturday secured more than the 270 votes needed to win the presidency.

In a lengthy statement released Tuesday afternoon, the Pentagon said that Anthony Tata, Ezra Cohen-Watnick and Kash Patel had been promoted to key roles.