President Trump’s defense secretary has reportedly prepared a resignation letter.
Mark Esper, a former Army officer who has been secretary since July 2019, wrote the letter under the impression that he could be forced out of his Cabinet position after the election, three defense officials told NBC News.
This follows an Axios report last month that said Esper, along with FBI Director Chris Wray and CIA Director Gina Haspel, are among those Trump expects to replace if he wins reelection.
At the time, the White House said the president had not made any Cabinet decisions. “We have no personnel announcements at this time, nor would it be appropriate to speculate about changes after the election or in a second term,” White House spokesman Judd Deere told the Washington Examiner.
The NBC report said it is not uncommon for Cabinet secretaries to prepare resignation letters at such a time when the president may want to reshuffle the leadership of an administration for a second term. Esper and Trump have sometimes clashed, including about whether to use active duty service members to respond to protests across the U.S. this summer. Two officials said the secretary’s preference is to get fired rather than resign, with his legacy in mind.
Jonathan Hoffman, assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs, dismissed speculation about Esper’s future in the administration.
“The speculation about potential resignations of Cabinet officials is a well-worn, D.C.-insider, post-election parlor game,” Hoffman said. “[Secretary Esper] continues to serve the nation as the secretary of defense at the pleasure of the president and is at the Pentagon today working on the irreversible implementation of the National Defense Strategy.”
In a tweet Thursday evening, Hoffman added: “The NBC story is inaccurate and misleading in many ways. To be clear, Secretary of Defense Esper has no plans to resign, nor has he been asked to submit a letter of resignation.”
Two days after Election Day, the contest between Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden remains unresolved.
