President Donald Trump tweeted on Thursday that Defense Secretary James Mattis, a retired Marine general who was one of Trump’s first Cabinet picks, would be retiring at the end of February. General Jim Mattis will be retiring, with distinction, at the end of February, after having served my Administration as Secretary of Defense for the past two years. A new Secretary of Defense will be named shortly. “Our troops continue to provide the capabilities needed to prevail in conflict and sustain strong U.S. global influence.”Defense Secretary James Mattis has resigned. The defense secretary has characterized Putin as trying to undermine NATO and assaulting Western democracies while violating international norms.

Source: Huffington Post December 20, 2018 22:30 UTC