But no one has quit in quite the same way as Defense Secretary James Mattis did Thursday night . It's impossible to read Mattis' letter as evidence of anything but a man who had been pushed well past his breaking point and, finally, snapped. Despite all of that -- losing his two most reliable and relied-upon confidants in the Cabinet -- Mattis seemed to skate above it all. That ended Thursday -- with the letter that seemed to be months of pent-up frustrations by Mattis loosed, in written form, on Trump. Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse (R) called it a "sad day," adding: "Secretary Mattis was giving advice the President needs to hear.

Source: CNN December 21, 2018 00:29 UTC