WASHINGTON — For most of his tumultuous 23 months in office, President Trump has tried to shake off anyone who would restrain his insurgent style of leadership. With the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Mr. Trump is at last a president unbound. Even for some Republicans, this was a deeply unsettling prospect, especially after a week in which Mr. Trump rejected a deal to keep the government running, openly criticized the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates, and announced that the United States would pull 2,000 troops out of Syria, without consulting allies or warning Congress. That last decision prompted Mr. Mattis to quit after he could not persuade Mr. Trump to reverse course, and the defense secretary left little doubt in his resignation letter that he viewed the president as a threat to the world order the United States helped construct. And it all played out at a moment Mr. Trump is awash in investigations of possible collusion between Russia and his campaign, inquiries into his business and his family foundation, and allegations that he directed his former lawyer to pay hush money to two women with whom he is alleged to have had affairs.

Source: New York Times December 21, 2018 02:02 UTC