Christopher Miller.
(Image credit: Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images)

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.

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Tim O'Donnell

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.