Trump, annoyed by resignation letter, pushes out Mattis earlyU.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the news media while gathering for a briefing from his senior military leaders, including Defense Secretary James Mattis (L), in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 23, 2018. Trump said Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan would take over on an acting basis from Jan. 1. Mattis said that Trump deserved to have a defense secretary more aligned with his views. Thursday’s tweet was dictated to an aide to send before Trump read Mattis’ resignation letter, a senior administration official told reporters on Sunday. A senior White House official said that Trump was irked by the attention given to Mattis’ resignation letter.

Source: Standard Digital December 23, 2018 22:07 UTC