Despite Trump tweets, Navy won't stop disciplinary process unless there's an official order

They may not quit, but they don't seem particularly happy, either.

Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer said Saturday he has no intentions of resigning. Instead, he said if President Trump orders the Navy to halt its process of deciding whether four Navy SEALs — including Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, who was acquitted of murder charges but demoted for posing for a picture with the corpse of an Islamic State fighter — are fit to continue serving in the force, the Navy will comply. "I work at the pleasure of the president," Spencer said. "I do not interpret what the president does. I do what he says."

Spencer did, however, add that he does not consider a tweet to be an order, so Trump assuring that the Navy won't expel Gallagher on Thursday over the social media platform doesn't count; the process will only stop in light of an official directive and will continue as planned for now. Earlier reports indicated Spencer and Rear Adm. Collin Green were ready to resign if Trump intervened in the process, but Spencer has denied the rumor and said he doesn't believe Green has any intention of stepping down either. Just in case, though, NBC reports that military leaders have lobbied the president not to an issue the order so the Navy doesn't lose Spencer or Green.

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Trump has drawn the ire of some top military and Defense Department officials lately for his determination to clear the names of several service members accused of war crimes. The military believes they should go through the proper channels of the military judicial system, rather than receive presidential pardons. Read more at The Washington Post and The New York Times.