mark esper

Secretary Esper has kept a letter of resignation on hand since the summer, when he and the president disagreed over the use of active duty troops to put down street protests.

The Pentagon said the paper would shut down by Sept. 30. Shortly afterward President Trump tweeted that it won't happen "under my watch."

The Pentagon is promising what President Trump declared in June would happen: Troops are to be moved out of Germany, which the president accuses of stiffing NATO.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper doesn't actually ban the Confederate flag's display. He simply lists the flags that can be shown by the military, and the controversial banner is not on his list.

Jim Mattis, who resigned as Trump's defense secretary nearly a year and a half ago, accuses the president of dividing the nation and warns against "militarizing our response" to protests.

In a public break with President Trump, Defense Secretary Mark Esper says he does not support invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act and deploying troops to American streets.

A peace deal signed with the Taliban calls for 4,000 of the approximately 13,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan to leave within 135 days and for all U.S. troops to be out within 14 months.