President Trump replaces Defense Secretary Mark Esper

FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2020, file photo Secretary of Defense Mark Esper speaks before a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, at the Pentagon in Washington. President Donald Trump has fired Esper. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that he terminated Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.

“I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. Miller, the highly respected Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (unanimously confirmed by the Senate), will be Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately,” Trump wrote on Twitter shortly before 1 p.m. “Chris will do a GREAT job! Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service.”