White House reportedly eyeing Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie to replace Mark Esper as defense secretary


President Trump has had three defense secretaries during his tenure, and he may soon have his fourth. NBC News reports White House officials are in talks with Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie about stepping in as defense secretary should Trump fire existing Defense Secretary Mark Esper. Wilkie's role on the White House's COVID-19 task force apparently raised his profile with the president.
Trump has reportedly long been displeased with Esper, who has been in the role for about a year. He recently broke with Trump on a handful of issues including renaming military bases that are named for Confederate leaders (Esper said yes, Trump said no) and invoking the Insurrection Act to send federal troops to cities experiencing protests (Esper said no, Trump said maybe). Now, tensions are especially high between Trump and Esper, NBC News reports, as the president faces backlash for allegedly calling U.S. veterans "losers" and "suckers."
Shaking up the top job at the Pentagon might give Trump his fall guy, but allies are reportedly concerned it could also "create turmoil in his administration during the closing weeks of the campaign." NBC reports that "the option of naming Wilkie as acting Pentagon chief would give Trump the flexibility to remove Esper immediately after the November election, if not before."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Officials told NBC News "there are no plans to replace Secretary Esper." Last month, though, when asked about the issue, Trump said: "I consider firing everybody. At some point, at some point, that's what happens."
Read more at NBC News.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jessica Hullinger is a writer and former deputy editor of The Week Digital. Originally from the American Midwest, she completed a degree in journalism at Indiana University Bloomington before relocating to New York City, where she pursued a career in media. After joining The Week as an intern in 2010, she served as the title’s audience development manager, senior editor and deputy editor, as well as a regular guest on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. Her writing has featured in other publications including Popular Science, Fast Company, Fortune, and Self magazine, and she loves covering science and climate-related issues.
-
Exploring Georgia's southern highlands
The Week Recommends Visit Javakheti, Georgia's 'lake district', and meet the last-remaining 'spirit wrestlers' in the region
-
Delivery drivers face continuing heat danger with Trump's OSHA pick
The Explainer David Keeling is the former head of UPS and also worked at Amazon
-
Is that the buzzing sound of climate change worsening sleep apnea?
Under the radar Catching diseases, not those ever-essential Zzs
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible