{"id":33121,"date":"2020-11-09T21:24:56","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T21:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/11\/09\/democrats-blast-esper-firing-as-national-security-risk\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:41:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:41:40","slug":"democrats-blast-esper-firing-as-national-security-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/11\/09\/democrats-blast-esper-firing-as-national-security-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats blast Esper firing as national security risk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 Congressional Democrats unloaded on President Donald Trump for abruptly firing<\/a> Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday, blasting the move as a danger to national security and spiteful toward a Pentagon leader Trump believed wasn\u2019t loyal enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., was among lawmakers who warned the action would inject more uncertainty and risk into the country\u2019s rocky transition to President-elect Joe Biden<\/a>, whose electoral victory Trump has disputed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDismissing politically appointed national security leaders during a transition is a destabilizing move that will only embolden our adversaries and put our country at greater risk,\u201d Smith said in a statement. “President Trump\u2019s decision to fire Secretary Esper out of spite is not just childish, it\u2019s also reckless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has long been clear that President Trump cares about loyalty above all else, often at the expense of competence, and during a period of presidential transition competence in government is of the utmost importance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With two Senate races that will determine which party controls the upper chamber headed to run-offs in January, and Trump contesting the election results, Congress’ lame-duck session looks like it will be a continuous partisan battle. Beyond the practical concerns surrounding the firing, it has opened an avenue of attack against Republicans on national security and the administration\u2019s pandemic response that some congressional Republicans had hoped to avoid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrump said at the last [presidential] debate that the military will distribute a COVID-19 vaccine. Today he fired his [defense] Secretary,\u201d Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren<\/a>, a SASC member, said in a tweet. \u201cI want to know what\u2019s going on at the Pentagon and make sure that Trump\u2019s actions aren\u2019t jeopardizing our pandemic response.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid the speculation about Esper\u2019s imminent departure over differences with Trump, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., were among Senate leaders who pressured the White House in recent weeks to keep Esper in place, Politico<\/a> reported. McConnell\u2019s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inhofe, in a statement Monday, wasn\u2019t critical of Esper\u2019s firing and didn\u2019t mention the presidential transition. He did thank Esper for, “prioritizing implementation of the National Defense Strategy, for thinking critically about how the Pentagon operates, and for always putting our service members first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just spoke with Acting Secretary of Defense Miller, and I look forward to working with him to ensure that these priorities remain paramount and to working with President Trump to maintain stability at the Pentagon, particularly as we work to enact the 60th annual National Defense Authorization Act.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t