WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday he would replace Defence Secretary James Mattis at the start of the new year, two months earlier than planned.

“I am pleased to announce that our very talented Deputy Secretary of Defence, Patrick Shanahan, will assume the title of Acting Secretary of Defence starting Jan 1, 2019,” President Trump tweeted, maintaining his tradition of using the social media for announcing key decisions.

“Patrick has a long list of accomplishments while serving as deputy, & previously Boeing. He will be great,” he wrote.Secretary Mattis announced his resignation on Thursday with a letter saying his world views were not aligned with Trump, who had the right to appoint a person who thought like him.

Mattis also said he would serve till the end of February to ensure a smooth transition and Trump confirmed the schedule in a tweet he released after a White House meeting with Mattis on Thursday.

But on Sunday, he changed his mind, announcing that Mattis would now leave on Jan 1.

CNN reported that Trump was mad at the extensive coverage given to Mattis’s resignation and therefore was forcing him to leave earlier than he originally planned. Even Trump’s allies in the US Congress condemned Mattis’s departure and criticised Trump’s plans to withdraw all US troops from Syria and reduce the military presence in Afghanistan from 14,000 to 7,000.

The US media reported that Mattis had advised Trump not to change military positions in Syria and Afghanistan and when Trump rejected his advice, he stepped down.

Pentagon spokesman Col Rob Manning, however, said in a statement that “the secretary of defence serves at the pleasure of the President. The department remains focused on national security”.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2018