After Secretary of Defense James Mattis resigned, U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, thanked him for his outstanding service.
Corker commented, "I admire and respect General Mattis as much as anyone I have ever met in the public arena He is a patriot who cares deeply about our country and the men and women in uniform who look to him for leadership and sound judgement. He has always put country above self and represents the very best of America. I appreciate his forthright and honest assessments and thank him for his devotion to duty. Our nation will miss his stellar service."
CBS News reports that Defense Secretary James Mattis will resign at the end of February, he informed President Trump in a letter Thursday. The defense secretary said he is stepping down because of the differences in viewpoints with Mr. Trump.
Mattis wrote, "Because you have the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position."
Mr. Trump announced the news in a tweet and praised Mattis' tenure as secretary.
"During Jim's tenure, tremendous progress has been made, especially with respect to the purchase of new fighting equipment," Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. "General Mattis was a great help to me in getting allies and other countries to pay their share of military obligations. A new Secretary of Defense will be named shortly. I greatly thank Jim for his service!"
News of Mattis' impending departure comes the day after Mr. Trump's sudden announcement about Syria, a decision he made without consulting security officials in his administration.
A senior White House official said that Mattis came to the White House for a meeting, not previously scheduled, around 3:30 p.m. Thursday, and informed the president he would be leaving. The president hopes to announce a replacement by the end of the year.