In Washington, D.C., President Trump has fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper. This comes months after Esper clashed with Trump by opposing the deployment of active-duty troops to respond to the nationwide protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd. On Monday, Trump announced Christopher Miller, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, would serve as acting defense secretary. Senator Ron Wyden responded on Twitter by writing, “Donald Trump fired someone who wouldn’t order U.S. troops to attack peaceful protesters and is replacing him with someone he may think will carry out those orders.”
In a second tweet, Wyden wrote: “I opposed Chris Miller’s nomination because he refused to promise that intelligence agencies wouldn’t target Americans based on their political views. He should remember that anyone who carries out an illegal order from Donald Trump will be held fully accountable under the law.” During an interview last week with the Military Times, Esper suggested that he would soon be fired because he stood up to Trump. He said, “Who’s going to come in behind me? It’s going to be a real 'yes man.' And then God help us.”