One person said Esper has told people close to him that he intends to leave regardless of the election’s outcome, meaning he could exit the administration about two months before Trump does, if the president loses.
Trump has been frustrated that Esper, who became secretary in July 2019, hasn’t done more to publicly defend him on key issues, including reports that Russia paid Taliban fighters “bounties” for the killing of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Trump was also angered that Esper in June publicly opposed the idea of deploying active-duty military to contain nationwide protests over racism. He confronted his defense secretary June 3 at the White House after Esper held a news conference in which he said that using active-duty military forces to perform law enforcement within the U.S. is “a matter of last resort” and that the National Guard was better-suited to the task, people familiar with the matter said.
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