Outgoing Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis sent a brief farewell message to all Department of Defense employees Monday that cited Abraham Lincoln, but did not make mention of President Trump.
Mattis, who is leaving office Monday, referenced a line that Lincoln sent then-Gen. Ulysses Grant: “Let nothing which is transpiring, change, hinder, or delay your military movements, or plans.”
“I am confident that each of you remains undistracted for our sworn mission to support and defend the Constitution while protecting our way of life,” Mattis said in his brief message to all DOD employees.
Mattis kept the letter Lincoln had sent to Grant in his office as a reminder to himself to ignore the distractions and turmoil of Washington, D.C.
The defense secretary announced Dec. 20 that he would be leaving his post shortly after Trump went against multiple top advisers’ advice not to pull U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan.
“Because you have the right to have a secretary of defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position,” Mattis told Trump in his resignation letter.
In mid-December, Mattis met with Trump to try to persuade him to keep U.S. forces in Syria. When his attempts failed, he decided to quit.
Right before Mattis released his resignation letter, Trump announced on Twitter that Mattis would be retiring “with distinction” at the end of February. Mattis’ departure, however, was moved up by two months, and he will departure from his post Monday.
Trump announced Dec. 23, just days after the resignation, that Patrick Shanahan will take over as acting secretary of defense starting Jan. 1, 2019.
Read the full letter:
SUBJECT: Farewell Message
On February 1, 1865, President Lincoln sent to General Ulysses S. Grant a one sentence telegram. It read: “Let nothing which is transpiring, change, hinder, or delay your military movements, or plans.”
Our Department’s leadership, civilian and military, remains in the best possible hands. I am confident that each of you remains undistracted from our sworn mission to support and defend the Constitution while protecting our way of life. Our Department is proven to be at its best when the times are most difficult. So keep the faith in our country and hold fast, alongside our allies, aligned against our foes.
It has been my high honor to serve at your side. May God hold you safe in the air, on land, and on sea.
James Mattis
