Defense Secretary Mark Esper has written a letter of resignation in anticipation that he’s on President Donald Trump’s short list of Cabinet officials who’ll be pushed out, NBC News reported.
The report comes on the heels of an Axios dispatch that said Esper, along with FBI Director Chris Wray and CIA Director Gina Haspel, are among those Trump expects to replace if he wins the election.
NBC News, which cited three unnamed defense officials verifying that Esper had an undated resignation written up, reported that it's not uncommon for Cabinet secretaries to prepare such letters during a presidential transition. The president decides whether to accept the resignation letters, and the process usually occurs after the election results are clear, the news outlet noted.
But defense officials told NBC News that Esper prepared his letter because he’s long been expected to get the boot after the election.
In the meantime, Esper is helping members of Congress draft legislation to strip names of Confederate leaders from military bases — a move that could further rile Trump, NBC News reported.
"He cares about his legacy and prefers to be remembered as someone who was fired because he stood up to the president, rather than being remembered as 'Yesper,'" one of the sources told NBC News.
Ten Army bases are named for Confederate military leaders: Fort Hood, Fort Bragg, Fort Benning, Fort Gordon, Fort Lee, Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Polk, Fort Rucker, the Virginia National Guard post Fort Pickett and the Louisiana National Guard's Camp Beauregard.
Jonathan Hoffman, assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs, dismissed the NBC News report.
''The speculation about potential resignations of Cabinet officials is a well-worn, D.C.-insider, post-election parlor game'' Hoffman said in a statement to NBC News.
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