US Defense Secretary James Mattis (L) with President Donald Trump. 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: Otago Daily Times December 23, 2018 22:07 UTC