The US president announces Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan as the acting defense secretary in January
US President Donald Trump announced Sunday that Patrick M. Shanahan, who is the Deputy Secretary of Defense, will succeed James Mattis, as acting defense secretary on Jan. 1, 2019.
The announcement came sooner than expected.
Trump tweeted “I am pleased to announce that our very talented Deputy Secretary of Defense, Patrick Shanahan, will assume the title of Acting Secretary of Defense starting January 1, 2019.
Patrick has a long list of accomplishments while serving as Deputy, & previously Boeing.
He will be great!”.
James Mattis resigned on Thursday to become effective at the end of February.
His resigned came shortly after Trump announced the withdrawal of nearly 2,000 US troops deployed in Syria, saying the Islamic state had been defeated.
On the same day Trump announced that preparations for the exit from Afghanistan had begun.
Mattis, who has served as defense secretary since Trump took office in 2017, on Thursday voiced his public objection to the administration’s new strategy.
In his letter of resignation, he stressed the need to “treat the allies with respect”.
Mattis, 68, has long warned of a hasty withdrawal and “leaving a vacuum in Syria that could be exploited by Syrian President Bashar Al Assad or his supporters”.
As for the new Acting secretary of defense Patrick M. Shanahan, since July 2017 he served as the deputy of the Secretary of Defense.
He previously served as Vice President of Boeing Aircraft Industry, responsible for logistics and operations.
Also, he served as Vice President and General Manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems.
I am pleased to announce that our very talented Deputy Secretary of Defense, Patrick Shanahan, will assume the title of Acting Secretary of Defense starting January 1, 2019. Patrick has a long list of accomplishments while serving as Deputy, & previously Boeing. He will be great!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2018
