Trump Names Patrick Shanahan Acting Secretary of Defense

President Donald Trump announced Sunday in a tweet that Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan will take over as Acting Secretary of Defense after the resignation of Jim Mattis due to Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.

US President Donald Trump has forced Defence Secretary James Mattis to leave his post early, appointing an acting successor to take over in the new year.

Gen Mattis, 68, strongly hinted at policy differences with Mr Trump when he resigned on Friday.

The tweet also revealed that Mattis, who was originally scheduled to depart his duties at the end of February, will now be exiting by Jan. 1. The New York Times reports that Trump moved up the date after he realized Mattis’ resignation letter slammed Trump’s lack of cooperation with the United States’ allies and inability to check authoritarian governments. Trump had earlier praised Mattis on Twitter when he announced Mattis’ resignation; according to the Times’ source, although Trump had seen the resignation letter at the time, the president didn’t comprehend that it reflected negatively on him.