Trump was talked out of firing Defense Secretary Esper over disagreement on protest response, WSJ says
Hours later, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany gave a lukewarm endorsement of Esper when asked about the daylight between Trump and his Defense secretary.
McEnany responded by saying that Trump has the “sole authority” to move forward with the Insurrection Act. “If he chooses to use it he will do it,” she said of the measure.
“As of right now, Secretary Esper is still Secretary Esper, and should the president lose faith, we will all learn about that in the future,” McEnany added.
Neither the Pentagon nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment.
During a White House address June 1, Trump stopped short of invoking the Insurrection Act but threatened to deploy active-duty U.S. military if states failed to quell demonstrations.
Trump said he was taking “swift and decisive action to protect our great capital, Washington, D.C.,” adding, “What happened in this city last night was a total disgrace.”
“As we speak, I am dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel and law enforcement officers to stop the rioting, looting, vandalism, assaults and the wanton destruction of property,” Trump said.
Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/09/trump-was-talked-out-of-firing-defense-secretary-esper-over-george-floyd-protests.html