US Defense Secretary James Mattis stepped down on Thursday, a day after President Donald Trump shocked the US establishment by withdrawing troops from Syria.
In a letter to Trump, Mattis said that his worldview, which favors traditional alliances and standing up to “malign actors”, contradicts the President’s.
“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 wrote in his letter.
Mattiss decision comes just one day after Trump decided to pull out US troops from Syria a decision that has left Washington scrambling over what to do next. The US President also claimed victory over ISIS.
Mattiss resignation comes at a chaotic moment in Trumps presidency the American federal government is on the verge of a shutdown, the Trump administration is facing relentless investigations over the alleged Russian interference, and the President is grappling with the fallout of a series of firings and resignations. Attempting to downplay the news, Trump said that Mattis will be retiring at the end of February.
Mattis met with Trump one-on-one in the Oval Office, a senior White House official told CNN‘s Kaitlan Collins. Mattis told Trump that he would resign and offered his resignation letter. “They had differences on some issues,” the official told CNN. Trump said a successor “will be named shortly”.
Mattis said he would stay in office until February 28, to allow time for a successor to be nominated and confirmed by the Senate.
His departure is likely to alarm US allies in Europe, who saw Mattis as the embodiment of continuity in US defence policy in an otherwise impulsive and often radical administration.
How did Washington react?
Shaken, disappointed, saddened and scared were just some of the reactions, as Washington expressed shock and concern over Defense Secretary Mattiss resignation.
“Just read Gen. Mattis resignation letter,” Republican Senator Marco Rubio said in a tweet. “It makes it abundantly clear that we are headed towards a series of grave policy errors which will endanger our nation, damage our alliances & empower our adversaries.”
“This chaos,” Ohio Republican Governor John Kasich tweeted, “both foreign and domestic, is putting America in danger and must stop immediately.”
Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, who is a Democrat, said on Twitter: “This is scary. Secretary Mattis has been an island of stability amidst the chaos of the Trump administration.”
Philip J. Crowley, a former US assistant secretary of state and national security council senior official said the US had lost “the last genuine conventional thinker in terms of national security policy, someone who understands the importance of alliances and the importance of predictability in terms of policy,” as per a report in Al Jazeera.
What does this mean for the US?
In his article for CNN, Stephen Collinson wrote, James Mattis just cut the world’s safety net.
Collinson further mentioned that Mattiss perhaps realised that he could no longer work for an erratic President who abruptly decided to pull US troops out of Syria, seemingly without consulting anyone this could result in a new period of global uncertainty.
For two years, politicians, foreign policy experts, and allied diplomats were able to confide their belief that as long as Mattis was in the Situation Room, alongside the impulsive Trump, everything would be alright.
Mattis stayed on, even though Washington lost so-called adults, such as former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and ex-national security adviser H.R. McMaster.
Mattis was instrumental in calming fears of a clash between the US and Chinese navies in the South China Sea. He defended US interest against an opportunistic Russia, and helped in easing meltdowns in the Middle East or a sudden global crisis with Trump at the helm.
Mattiss exit is a signal that the world should be preparing for an unchained US President, Collinson wrote.
Julian Zelizer, a political analyst at CNN, wrote in another article that Mattiss resignation takes place at a moment of great risk for the United States and its allies. The President is heading into a tumultuous period at home, which could act as a trigger to make even more impulsive decisions abroad.
Zelizer wrote that Trump often proves that he is in charge by taking big, dramatic actions. Zelizer fears the President might end up allowing the shutdown of the federal government, or make decisions on foreign policy based on whims and emotion rather than strategic planning. Perhaps, some fear that he could unleash military force to demonstrate that he is the commander in chief.
Trump favours shutdown of federal government
Donald Trump indicated that he favours a shutdown of the federal government by vowing on Thursday to not sign a stopgap spending bill passed by the Republican majority in the Senate.
At a signing ceremony at the White House for unrelated legislation, Trump said: Ive made my position very clear. Any measure that funds the government must include border security has to.
Not for political purposes but for our country, for the safety of our community. It is our sacred obligation. We have no choice, the Guardian reported.
Scrambling to keep up with the President, Republicans in the House of Representatives, on Thursday, passed a remade spending bill with $5.7 billion for Trumps proposed wall at the border.
As of now, it seems like Trump is unwilling to back down from his demand for $5 billion for his long-promised border wall. Democrats have made it clear that the figure is a nonstarter, however, leaving Congress at an impasse over the wall.
If a shutdown were to take place, it would be limited in scope because lawmakers have already funded roughly 75 per cent of the federal government through September 2019.
However, if lawmakers are unable to strike a deal with the President, a number of government entities would be affected by a lapse in funding, including the Department of Home land Security, the Justice Department, the Interior Department, the State Department, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Elton Gomes is a staff writer at Qrius