Pentagon chief carrying out orders he dislikes

WASHINGTON — From housing undocumented migrants to scrapping joint exercises with South Korea or setting up a new Space Force – US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, one-time favorite of Donald Trump, now finds himself reduced to carrying out presidential orders despite his disapproval.

US media say that the retired Marine general has been demoted in Washington's power circles by the arrival of former CIA chief Mike Pompeo as secretary of state, replacing the far-less active Rex Tillerson, and by the appointment of the hawkish John Bolton as national security adviser.

Trump has grown distant from Mattis because his defense chief "slow-walks his policy directives," administration sources told NBC News.

James Clapper, the former US intelligence chief, told CNN that Mattis may quit if the president sidelines him.

"I think if it reached the point where he himself felt that he was just ineffective and had no voice, no influence, I don't know how long he would linger," Clapper said.

Mattis – one of the few voices still considered to be moderate in the Trump cabinet – has faced a growing series of headaches in recent weeks.

Leaving aside Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear accord and the imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum, both of which Mattis opposed, the former general has been caught off guard several times by snap decisions on subjects where he would normally be consulted.