It’s unclear why the date was moved ahead, as Trump named the acting replacement.
At the time of his resignation, Mattis was slated to leave his post in February 2019.
“Because you have the right to have a secretary of defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position,” Mattis said in his Dec. 20 resignation letter to the president. “While the U.S. remains the indispensable nation in the free world, we cannot protect our interests or serve that role effectively without maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to those allies,” Mattis added.
About 2,000 U.S. troops will be pulled out of Syria within 30 days. On Twitter, Trump responded to some criticism the move was too sudden and could create a possible power vacuum that could be potentially be exploited by Russia and Iran.
The president’s withdrawal of troops, one of his 2016 campaign promises, comes after he argued that the United States shouldn’t police the Middle East because there is no benefit to the nation.
Trump separately criticized the “fake news” media for their coverage of the withdrawal.
Defense Department spokeswoman Dana White said Mattis will work with Shanahan and Pentagon leadership to ensure the department “remains focused on the defense of the nation during this transition.”
Shanahan, in his job as deputy defense secretary, has largely focused on internal Pentagon reform and issues such as the creation of a Space Force, a project championed by Trump but resisted by some lawmakers and others in the Pentagon.
A senior administration official told Reuters that Shanahan has a “deep-seated understanding of military operations, and global security affairs and, importantly, has the breadth of large-scale business management experience that will enable him to effectively oversee the Defense Department.”
