Then-Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, James Anderson, looks through the periscope aboard the ballistic-missile submarine USS Alaska

WASHINGTON: One day after President Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper, several other top officials headed out the door, replaced by political operatives and other Trump loyalists, raising fears over what will come next.

Tuesday began with the department’s acting policy chief unexpectedly handing in his resignation. 

In his letter to the president, James Anderson referenced the most current crisis at the highest levels of government, underscoring the oath taken by officeholders to the Constitution. “Now, as ever, our long-term success depends on adhering to the U.S. Constitution all public servants swear to support and defend,” he wrote.

Such sentences are not boilerplate in a senior official’s resignation letter and this was clearly designed to send a message. Every administration loses people after the third year as officials grow exhausted, need to earn money or just want to go home, but losing four top officials in two days is extraordinary.

Anderson’s departure cleared the way for Anthony Tata, President Trump’s failed pick to take over the policy job earlier this year, to move into the job. Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller, a Trump loyalist, swiftly issued a memo this afternoon naming Tata to the job. 

Later on in the day, Jen Stewart, chief of staff to the ousted Mark Esper, also resigned and was replaced by Kash Patel. A one-time Rep. Devin Nunes staffer, Patel played a central role in the Republican effort to discredit the Russia probe, and has held a variety of roles in the Trump administration.

Joseph Kernan, undersecretary of defense for intelligence, joined Stewart and Anderson in submitting a resignation letter. The retired Navy vice admiral was quickly replaced by Ezra Cohen-Watnick, confidant of former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Watnick was fired by then-NSA director H.R. McMaster before eventually finding his way to the Pentagon.

“This confirms what I have been saying for months,” said Adam Smith, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. “The President’s singular obsession with loyalty has severely undermined the competence of our government and made us less safe. It is an insult to the American people to hamstring government, particularly during a period of presidential transition.”

A retired one-star general, Tata became a vociferous defender of President Trump on Fox News and came under fire for posting a series of Tweets accusing then-President Barack Obama of being a “terrorist leader” working to assist Iran. He also called Islam “the most oppressive, violent religion” in the world.

Former supporters, including retired CENTCOM commander Gen. Joseph Votel and former SOCOM chief Gen. Tony Thomas, pulled their support for Tata after learning of his comments.

Frustrated after the Senate Armed Services Committee canceled its confirmation hearing for Tata just hours before it was scheduled to start, the Trump administration installed him in a vague advisory role to then Defense Secretary Mark Esper. 

In response to Tata’s promotion, Democratic Senate Armed Services Committee member Richard Bluenthal Tweeted, “Trump’s Defense Department purge is deeply dangerous to our national security—first firing SecDef Esper by tweet & now promoting a known racist Islamophobe.”

The policy job, generally considered the third most important post in the Pentagon, has been without a Senate-confirmed official since John Rood was fired in February after a series of disagreements with the White House, including having emerged as the DoD’s key dissenting voice over the Trump administration’s decision to halt $250 million in Ukrainian military aid in 2019, a decision which eventually helped lead to the president’s impeachment. Rood told Congress last spring that the Ukraine government had the confidence of the United States to spend the aid responsibility. 

Frustration with the head-spinning game of musical chairs at the Pentagon and the often chaotic decision-making in the current administration was on full display in September, when Anderson received a rough ride from both parties on the House Armed Services Committee.

Anderson was unable to answer a host of questions from lawmakers about the order to pull 10,000 US troops from Germany, why the order was given or where the troops will eventually end up.

Mac Thornberry, the committee’s ranking member who is slated to retire in January, complained that “a couple of staffers in the White House decided they wanted to try to sell the president on an absolute troop cap for Germany. They clearly hadn’t thought through the consequences, and what’s happened is Esper and the Pentagon are trying to put lipstick on the pig.” 

Chairman Adam Smith added, “for the Pentagon to send this over on a decision of this level? The level of detail that we’re getting here is just not acceptable.”