Mark T. Esper

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In this Sept. 22, 2020, file photo, then-U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper speaks before a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, at the Pentagon in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Trump responds to ‘figurehead’ Mark Esper: I had to run the military myself

By Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times

In this file photo, Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper speaks before a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, at the Pentagon, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) ** FILE **

Trump wanted to shoot protesters, former defense secretary says in new book

By Ramsey Touchberry - The Washington Times

In this file photo, Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper speaks before a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, at the Pentagon, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) ** FILE **

Former Pentagon chief sues to publish material in ‘candid memoir’ of time in Trump’s Cabinet

In his first public speech since leaving office, former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a dinner hosted by Palmetto Family on Thursday, April 29, 2021, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard/File)

Trump-era officials join leaders to promote world peace

By Guy Taylor - The Washington Times

In this June 1, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump departs the White House to visit outside St. John's Episcopal Church, in Washington. Part of the church was set on fire during protests on Sunday night. Walking behind Trump from left are, Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Milley says his presence “created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.” He called it “a mistake” that he has learned from. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Mark Esper fired as defense secretary

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

In this file photo, Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper speaks before a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, at the Pentagon, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) ** FILE **

Mark Esper fires back: ‘Who’s pushed back more than anybody’ on Donald Trump?

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

In this June 1, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump departs the White House to visit outside St. John's Church, in Washington. Walking behind Trump from left are, Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Trump-Mark Esper rift widens as Pentagon fears being drawn into election

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

In this April 1, 2020, file photo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Mark Esper urges other Indo-Pacific countries to stand with the U.S. against China

By Mike Glenn - The Washington Times

Federal agents disperse Black Lives Matter protesters near the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse on Monday, July 20, 2020, in Portland, Ore. Officers used teargas and projectiles to move the crowd after some protesters tore down a fence fronting the courthouse. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Pentagon chief Mark Esper eyes review of police officers wearing camouflage uniforms

By Lauren Toms - The Washington Times

Defense Secretary Mark Esper, left, listens as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley testifies during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, July 9, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP) ** FILE **

Pentagon may strip names, sex from promotion packets to combat ‘unconscious bias’

By Douglas Ernst - The Washington Times

In this July 3, 2020, file photo, a man wears a Confederate flag while walking with others in Marion, Va. (Andre Teague/Bristol Herald Courier via AP, File)

Mark Esper, Defense chief, effectively bans display of Confederate flag on military properties

By Lauren Toms - The Washington Times

Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks during a briefing on counternarcotics operations at U.S. Southern Command in Doral, Fla., Friday, July 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) **FILE**

Mark Esper, Defense chief, issues diversity memo, wants answers by mid-August

By Mike Glenn - The Washington Times

Defense Secretary Mark Esper testifies during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, July 9, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)

Pentagon investigating string of leaks

By Lauren Toms - The Washington Times

In this March 4, 2020, file photo Defense Secretary Mark Esper, left, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, listen during a Senate Armed Services Committee on budget posture on Capitol Hill in Washington. Esper and Milley are going before Congress for the first time in months to face a long list of controversies, including their differences with President Donald Trump over the handling of protests near the White House last month during unrest triggered by the killing George Floyd in police hands. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Pentagon leaders face grilling on use of military in unrest

By Robert Burns and Lolita C. Baldor - Associated Press

Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who has had his own public friction recently with the commander in chief, is trying to avoid getting pulled into a political battle with lawmakers who say President Trump is driving hirings, firings and promotions inside the Pentagon. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, Pool)

Mark Esper, Defense Secretary, battles Pentagon vacancies

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

In this June 1, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump departs the White House to visit outside St. John's Episcopal Church, in Washington. Part of the church was set on fire during protests on Sunday night. Walking behind Trump from left are, Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Milley says his presence “created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.” He called it “a mistake” that he has learned from. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Gen. Mark Milley says he was wrong to accompany Donald Trump on church walk

By Lauren Toms - The Washington Times

Cindy McCain, wife of late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., with Secretary of Defense James Mattis, left, and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, depart after laying a ceremonial wreath honoring all whose lives were lost during the Vietnam War at at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018. (Mary F. Calvert/Pool photo via AP)

James Mattis, John Kelly attacks on Trump drag military into partisan politics

By Mike Glenn and Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

In this April 1, 2020, file photo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

White House noncommittal on Donald Trump’s confidence in Mark Esper

By Dave Boyer - The Washington Times

In this March 18, 2020, photo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a press briefing with the coronavirus task force, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) **FILE**

Mark Esper, Pentagon chief, opposes Trump plan: ‘I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act’

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

Defense Secretary Mark Esper listens during a Cabinet Meeting with President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, May 19, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Mark Esper urges troops to remember Constitution, stay out of politics

By Mike Glenn - The Washington Times