Pentagon staff chief resigns after Mattis

Rear Adm. Kevin Sweeney has resigned his post as chief of staff to the U.S. secretary of defense, the Defense Department said Saturday.

Sweeney had become chief of staff to former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in January 2017, and his resignation comes soon after Mattis’ own pointed departure in December. The two had known each other for years.

Mattis said then that he had resigned in protest of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria and in protest of the president’s rejection of international alliances.

Mattis had originally said he would step down at the end of February, but angered by Mattis’ criticism, Trump said he was removing Mattis from his post two months early.

Patrick Shanahan, the former deputy secretary of defense, replaced Mattis and became acting secretary of defense on Jan. 1.

“After two years in the Pentagon, I’ve decided the time is right to return to the private sector,” Sweeney said in a statement on the department’s website. “It has been an honor to serve again alongside the men and women of the Department of Defense.”

A spokeswoman for the department said Saturday that she did not have any further comment beyond the statement. Sweeney could not immediately be reached for comment.

Sweeney’s resignation follows a number of recent high-profile exits from the Trump administration, including that of Mattis.