US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis has abruptly quit after falling out with Donald Trump over his foreign policies, one day after the President rebuffed top advisers and decided to pull all US troops out of Syria.
General Mattis said the US needed to maintain strong alliances and show respect to allies, while remaining “unambiguous” with countries like Russia and China.
“While the US remains the indispensable nation in the free world, we cannot protect our interests or serve that role effectively without maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to those allies.”
His departure had been anticipated since Mr Trump announced on Wednesday he was withdrawing US troops from Syria despite opposition from US allies and top US military officials.
General Mattis’s decision to quit was quickly lamented by foreign policy hands on both sides of the aisle, who viewed him as a sober voice of experience in the ear of a President who had never before held political office or served in the military.
“This is scary,” Senate intelligence committee vice-chairman Mark Warner said on Twitter.
Mr Trump, announcing General Mattis’s departure on Twitter, said he would nominate a successor soon.
“General Jim Mattis will be retiring, with distinction, at the end of February, after having served my Administration as Secretary of Defence for the past two years,” he wrote.
General Mattis joins a long list of Trump administration senior figures who have either quit or been removed, some unceremoniously, such as former secretary of state Rex Tillerson, who Mr Trump fired via Twitter in March.
Mr Trump’s White House has had the highest turnover of senior-level staff of the past five presidents, according to the Brookings Institution think tank.
Speculation that General Mattis might not last long in his post grew in October when Mr Trump said in a CBS interview the general was “sort of a Democrat” and might be leaving.
General Mattis, along with other national security aides, was said to have opposed Mr Trump’s decision to remove US troops from Syria.
Many US politicians have expressed concern about the decision and have asked Mr Trump to reconsider.
The news is certain to shock US military allies, already bewildered by what they see as Mr Trump’s unpredictable, go-it-alone approach to global security, and raises questions about whether General Mattis’s successor will be as steadfast about traditional treaty commitments, including to NATO.
When General Mattis interviewed for the job in 2016, he split with the then president-elect on a host of issues, including on NATO and the use of torture.
Mr Trump ultimately deferred to General Mattis, who opposed the practice, signalling he could be persuaded by his advisers.
But as time grew, Mr Trump increasingly acted on his own instincts on a host of national security issues, choosing an “America First” agenda that contradicted General Mattis’s core beliefs.
Mr Trump had also rebuffed General Mattis’s top pick to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, choosing instead army general Mark Milley.
General Mattis supported General Milley but had favoured air force general David Goldfein.
Senator Chuck Schumer has praised General Mattis while guaranteeing his departure would cost the US Government.
“Secretary Mattis was one of the few symbols, the few items of strength and stability in this administration,” Senator Schumer said.
“This week was one of the most chaotic weeks we’ve ever seen in American government.”
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