Trump’s most chaotic week
Donald Trump is facing an uphill battle to replace his defence secretary as the president reels from perhaps the worst, and certainly most chaotic, week of his presidency so far.
In a major dent to his ‘‘America First’’ foreign policy, several leading candidates for the job have already declared they oppose pulling US troops out of Syria. They were joined by leading Republican senators, which would make congressional confirmation of an isolationist successor difficult. The potential roadblock was just one of three major setbacks to hit the White House in a savage week for the increasingly isolated president.
In the early hours of yesterday, the US government partially shut down after Democrats refused to accede to Trump’s demand for US$5.7 billion (NZ$8.4b) to build 346km of his promised border wall. The impasse over a spending bill meant 380,000 government workers being sent home. Another 420,000, including border patrol agents, continued working without pay over Christmas. Trump blamed the Democrats. Amid the uncertainty, he suffered a third major blow as the stock market, regularly vaunted by Trump as a sign of his success in office, had its worst week in a decade, plunging seven per cent.
Trump spent much of his time in the White House this week watching the Fox Business Network on TV and telling aides he wanted to fire Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chairman, for raising interest rates. Advisers cautioned that would have a further devastating effect on the markets.
Mattis resigned on Friday in protest at Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria, and draw them down in Afghanistan.
Earlier, Trump had reportedly stunned advisers by telling Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, in a phone call: ‘‘You know what? It [Syria] is yours. I’m leaving.’’
Yesterday, Brett McGurk, the US envoy to the coalition fighting Islamic State, also resigned in protest. He said it was ‘‘reckless’’ to consider IS defeated. More resignations were expected.
Meanwhile, retired General Jack Keane, a Fox analyst and favourite to become defence secetary, slammed Trump’s decision, saying he stood with Mattis. Tom Cotton, a Republican senator and another favourite for the job, also criticised the decision.
Trump’s nominee would have to be confirmed by Congress. But both Democrat and Republican senators indicated they would not confirm an ‘‘America First’’ defence secretary.
Senator Ron Johnson, Republican chairman of the the homeland security committee, said: ‘‘I’d like a Mattis clone. I think we all would.’’
Pentagon officials told The Sunday Telegraph the impasse may well mean Patrick Shanahan, Mattis’s deputy, becoming acting defence secretary. The former Boeing executive is personally liked by Trump and has been working closely with Mike Pence on the new Space Force.
From early in the Trump administration, Mattis, along with John Kelly, the chief of staff, and H R McMaster, former national security adviser, had been seen as a guardrail against the president’s impulsive moves. Whispering in the corridors of Congress, concerned Republicans called the three the ‘‘axis of adults’’. In national security circles analysts referred to the ‘‘Committee to save America,’’ which also included Rex Tillerson, Mr Trump’s original Secretary of State. By February, when Mr Mattis leaves, all will be gone. Their departure left allies reeling. – Telegraph Group