![Trump Fires Esper as Pentagon Chief after Less than 2 Years](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2020/11/Mark-Esper-Youtube-via-Fox-Business.jpg?w=630&h=420&zc=1&s=0&a=t&q=89&w=980&q=75)
Trump Fires Esper as Pentagon Chief after Less than 2 Years
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he has fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
This is an unprecedented move at a time of national uncertainty about the outcome of Trump’s bid for a second term. It is the first time in the post-World War II era that a president seeking reelection has removed his secretary of defense after Election Day. The conventional wisdom is that stability atop the Pentagon and the military be maintained during a possible transition to a new administration.
Esper was Trump's second defense secretary, succeeding Jim Mattis, who resigned in 2018.
More From News Talk 96.5 KPEL
![Donald Trump Has Made His Vice Presidential Pick](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2024/07/attachment-GettyImages-2159730000.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Man Wins $100,000 With Lottery Strategy From Watching ‘Lottery Changed My Life’](http://townsquare.media/site/33/files/2022/04/attachment-giorgio-trovato-BRl69uNXr7g-unsplash.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Louisiana to be Prominently Featured at Republican National Convention](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2024/07/attachment-RNC-LOGO.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![What We Know About the 20-Year-Old Man Who Tried to Assassinate Donald Trump](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2024/07/attachment-GettyImages-2161922154.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Local Officer Encountered Gunman Just Before He Shot Toward Trump at Rally](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2024/07/attachment-GettyImages-2161922387.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Man Killed at Trump Rally Identified as Former Fire Chief, ‘Girl Dad’ who ‘Died a Hero’](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2024/07/attachment-Untitled-design-2024-07-14T144115.615.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![UPDATE: Trump Safe, Shooter Neutralized After Shots Fired at Rally](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2024/07/attachment-Shooting-Trump-Rally-Pennsylvania.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Did Authorities Spot the Loch Ness Monster On a Texas Highway?](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2024/07/attachment-Screen-Shot-2024-07-09-at-8.07.05-AM.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![‘Birds Aren’t Real’ Movement Claim Birds Are a Government Conspiracy](http://townsquare.media/site/33/files/2021/06/attachment-Birds-Arent-Real-2.jpg?w=980&q=75)