And Esper convened senior leadership sessions about China, bringing together members of the Joint Staff, the services and the combatant commanders to discuss the issue.While Hoffman said the Pentagon is “well aware that we are not out of the woods,” he defended Esper’s approach as, for the most part, successful.The first senior defense official noted that the review was done quickly because Esper wasn’t confirmed until the end of July and the process had to be complete before the next budget was submitted, a deadline that was just months away.“A key leadership principle is you make a pact as a leader with the people under your command. And look, I do everything I can to try to stay apolitical and try and stay out of situations that may appear political. Tag: Mark Esper With an eye on Russia, China and a horse, Pentagon chief visits Mongolia U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper met senior Mongolian leaders on Thursday in a rare visit The U.S. Senate confirmed him by a vote of 90-8 on July 23, 2019. ""Last night, a story came out based on a background interview I did earlier in the day, it focused on the events of last Monday evening in Lafayette Park, and I found it to be inaccurate in parts. Unbeknownst to him, Pompeo’s special envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, had begun discussing a peace deal with the Taliban. “One of the things that you don’t do is get out in front of the president on any major piece of news, and he’s fallen into that trap a couple times.”But to some inside the Pentagon, the cuts seemed rushed and arbitrary, and further eroded morale.Col.
But Esper is fighting the perception both within and outside the department that he is too deferential to others in the administration, and too easily steamrolled when major decisions occur — not just by Trump but by other administration figures such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former national security adviser John Bolton.After a year of being overshadowed by others, Mark Esper is trying to prove he’s not a pushover.But other former officials were not so kind, saying the incident irrevocably damaged his already less-than-stellar reputation.Inside the Pentagon, Esper has fared better. The president wrote, “I know Mark, and have no doubt he …
I don’t put that on him,” the person said. The Department of Health and Human Services hopes to leverage DOD’s expertise and vast resources to enable faster manufacturing and distribution of the eventual vaccine.“He took back control of the Pentagon,” said the former White House official. “I know he doesn’t hesitate to give his views, but on the other hand he understands when a decision is made, you’ve got to basically execute.”Esper’s relationship with Milley is another area of concern for those who fear the Defense secretary doesn’t stand up for himself. He also has experience as a national security adviser on Capitol Hill. As Shanahan — who was still in the acting job — Pompeo, Bolton and then-Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford debated an appropriate response at a breakfast meeting, Esper remained “largely silent,” Bolton recalled in his recently released memoir.
I did know that following the president’s remarks on Monday evening, that many of us were going to join President Trump and review the damage in Lafayette Park and at St. John’s Episcopal Church. The Defense secretary spent more than an hour each week reviewing the budgets of the department’s 27 “fourth estate” support agencies for opportunities to cut costs. “When you start out in such a hole, so slow to fill jobs, so slow to identify and vet people, then the natural attrition starts to get ahead of your ability to keep up.”“There was some frustration from DOD that the State Department was trying to own defense operations,” the former White House official said, pointing to Pompeo’s string of TV appearances after the strike on Soleimani in January.
He made a point of listening to civilian Pentagon leaders, who complained of being overshadowed by the generals under Mattis.Esper signed the papers anyway.“He understands that he’s got to basically maintain a good working relationship with the White House,” Punaro explained. Then there are other issues where you cannot connect with him at all because you are left to follow up with his staff,” the official said.
"Well, I did know that we were going to the church.
“Do you think a Panetta or a Gates or a Mattis would ever have put themselves in that position? Mark Esper, President Donald Trump's pick for new Defense Secretary, is an Army veteran who served in the first Iraq war.