{"slug":"trump-mattis-resignation-letter-rebuke","title":"Mattis Resignation: 'You Have the Right to Have a Secretary of Defense Whose Views Are More Aligned'","date":"2018-12-20","lastUpdated":"2019-01-01","description":"Secretary of Defense James Mattis resigned on December 20, 2018, submitting a resignation letter that directly and explicitly criticized Trump's conduct of foreign policy — stating that Trump deserved a Defense Secretary 'whose views are more aligned with yours.' The letter addressed Trump's abandonment of allies and his accommodation of adversaries by name, and was widely read as the most direct public rebuke of a sitting president by a departing Cabinet official in modern American history. Trump announced the Syria withdrawal, which prompted the resignation, without consulting the Joint Chiefs.","summary":"Mattis had served as Defense Secretary since January 2017. His resignation came after Trump announced — via tweet, without military consultation — that he was withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria, effectively abandoning the Kurdish partners who had done the ground fighting against ISIS. Mattis's resignation letter was unusual in its directness: it stated that he believed Trump had not treated allies with 'respect and seriousness' and had not been 'clear-eyed' about the threats posed by adversaries including Russia and China. Trump, initially describing the departure as planned, later forced Mattis out before the end of his original tenure after the letter's contents became widely circulated.","category":"foreign-policy","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/us/politics/james-mattis-defense-secretary-trump.html","title":"James Mattis, Defense Secretary, Resigns in Rebuke of Trump's Worldview","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-tweeted-victory-over-the-islamic-state-then-mattis-resigned/2018/12/20/93e64f06-0494-11e9-b6a9-0aa5c2fcc9e4_story.html","title":"Trump tweeted victory over the Islamic State. Then Mattis resigned.","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/61d5a41c406049fdb7ab0dc6e048e0d7","title":"Mattis out as defense secretary; Trump says he's 'retiring'","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/12/mattis-resignation-letter/578815/","title":"Mattis Resignation Letter — Full Text and Analysis","publisher":"The Atlantic"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Mattis","Syria","Kurds","military","first-term","foreign-policy","resignation"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2018-12-19","title":"Trump tweets Syria withdrawal","summary":"Trump tweets that the Islamic State has been 'defeated' in Syria and that U.S. troops will withdraw. The announcement is made without prior consultation with the Defense Secretary, the Joint Chiefs, or congressional allies. The tweet catches the Pentagon leadership by surprise."},{"date":"2018-12-20","title":"Mattis submits resignation letter","summary":"Mattis submits a two-page resignation letter to Trump. The letter's language is carefully worded but unmistakably critical: it states Mattis cannot in good conscience continue given his divergence with Trump's views on allies and adversaries. Trump tells reporters Mattis is 'retiring.'"},{"date":"2018-12-23","title":"Trump forces early departure","summary":"After the resignation letter is published and receives widespread praise, Trump tweets an attack on Mattis and announces he will leave immediately rather than on February 28. Trump names Patrick Shanahan as acting Defense Secretary."},{"date":"2019-01-01","title":"Mattis departs; later speaks publicly","summary":"Mattis formally departs. He maintains public silence until June 2020, when he issues a statement saying Trump is the first president in his lifetime who has made no effort to unite the country — and that Trump's response to protests constitutes a threat to the Constitution."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C.","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Kurdish YPG/SDF forces who bore the ground combat burden against ISIS and were abandoned; U.S. strategic credibility with alliance partners; U.S. service members whose Syria mission was terminated without a plan","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President; ordered Syria withdrawal via tweet without consulting Defense Secretary or Joint Chiefs","institution":"White House"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2019-01-01","summary":"Updated with forced early departure."}]}}