The new Pentagon chief is a wild card
A new report from The New York Times suggests President Trump's new Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller may shake things up in the final two months of his administration.
Sources who have worked with Miller, whom the Times describes as a "little-known counterterrorism official," told the paper he can display an irreverent demeanor that sometimes clashes with the seriousness of the policy matter he has handled, and he's reportedly developed a reputation for being hard-charging and perhaps dismissive of traditional bureaucratic vetting procedures. Meanwhile, a recent incident that involves him bypassing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's authority indicates he may prefer to "ask forgiveness, not permission," although that's less relevant now that he's on a level playing field with the nation's top diplomat.
The previously unreported incident, per the Times, consisted of Miller flying to Qatar to gauge whether the country may help with plans to either buy off or marginalize senior leaders of Shabab, Al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia. Pompeo eventually caught wind of the mission and shut it down, the Times reports, but people who worked with the former Green Beret officer weren't surprised by the unorthodox idea. "Based on Chris Miller's military background in the Special Forces, he would certainly have a lot of interest in working with irregular forces or others to defeat our terrorist enemies," Luke Hartig, a former senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council during the Obama administration, told the Times. Read more at The New York Times.
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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Ukraine fires ATACMS, Russia ups hybrid war
Speed Read Ukraine shot U.S.-provided long-range missiles and Russia threatened retaliation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freeze
Speed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bans
Speed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sanctions Israeli West Bank settler group
Speed Read The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Amana, Israel's largest settlement development organization
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emerge
Speed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden allows Ukraine to hit deep in Russia
Speed Read The U.S. gave Ukraine the green light to use ATACMS missiles supplied by Washington, a decision influenced by Russia's escalation of the war with North Korean troops
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Sri Lanka's new Marxist leader wins huge majority
Speed Read The left-leaning coalition of newly elected Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won 159 of the legislature's 225 seats
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden arrives in Peru for final summits
Speed Read President Joe Biden will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, visit the Amazon rainforest and attend two major international summits
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published