Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has accused Donald Trump of instigating chaos by sacking the US Defense Secretary, Mark Esper, with a fiat and replacing him with someone not approved through legislative process.
A few days after losing election, President Donald Trump fired Esper in a characteristic tweet:
“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.”
Trump was said to be angry that Esper had opposed his plan to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy military to deal with the wide spread protests that trailed George Floyd death in the hands of police in June.
Responding to this sack news, Pelosi came hard on Trump in a statement issued by her.
“The abrupt firing of Secretary Esper is disturbing evidence that President Trump is intent on using his final days in office to sow chaos in our American Democracy and around the world,” she said. “Continuity and stability are always important during a presidential transition; they are absolutely imperative at this moment, as this historically erratic Administration prepares for its departure.”
The speaker added that, “It is concerning that reports show that this firing was an act of retribution by the President, allegedly for Secretary Esper’s refusal to send active-duty military troops to crack down on peaceful demonstrations against police brutality. Most disturbingly, however, the timing of this dismissal raises serious questions about Trump’s planned actions for the final days of his Administration.”
She concluded that, “Trump’s recklessness endangers our national security. It is disturbing and dangerous that, at this precarious moment, our military will now be led by an official who has not been confirmed for this position by the Senate.”
