After the US election, President Trump fired Defense Secretary Esper and Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Crabbs, from the Department of Homeland Security. The departure of the two individuals has resulted in a large number of vacancies in senior positions in the federal government's defense and counter-terrorism fields, attracting widespread attention from the outside world. At the same time, the media had previously exposed the situation of a large number of government technical bureaucrats leaving, posing challenges to many professional jobs. Analysis suggests that if this "idle" continues, it will be seriously detrimental to the US government's handling of economic, epidemic prevention and other issues.

The Pentagon is idling

On November 9th, US President Trump announced the firing of Defense Secretary Esper and appointed National Counter Terrorism Center Director Miller as Acting Secretary of Defense.

In Trump's "Fire Twitter," he thanked Esper for the service he provided during his tenure. Esper also politely responded by "accepting the decision". However, various signs indicate that this dismissal was not sudden. As early as August this year, Bloomberg cited sources familiar with the matter that Trump had privately stated that he was considering replacing Esper after the November election. And Esper also seems to have long been interested. Recently, NBC exposed that Esper had prepared his resignation letter in advance.

According to analysis, after the violent law enforcement by white police led to the death of African American man Floyd, the White House threatened to send troops to major cities to "quell violent activities," but was rejected by the Pentagon. Since then, the conflict between the two has intensified, putting Esper at the forefront of the storm.

However, Esper is not alone. Just after Esper was fired, several high-ranking officials from the Pentagon suddenly resigned, including three Defense Department officials, including Acting Deputy Secretary for Policy James Anderson. According to Newsweek, as of last weekend, 40% of the senior positions in the Ministry of Defense that require Senate confirmation of nominations had not been officially approved as incumbent.

Currently, out of the 60 highest positions in the Ministry of Defense, 24 positions are not confirmed by the Senate. On the contrary, these 24 positions are filled by non appointed staff who work as "agents" or "substitutes" under the direction of the White House, including the Secretary of Defense and several Deputy Secretaries in charge of intelligence, policy, research, and engineering, as well as auditors. In addition, no one currently holds positions such as Deputy Minister in charge of the Navy, Air Force, and Army General Advisor.

Arnold Punaro, who previously served on the Senate Armed Services Committee in the United States Congress, said that considering the upcoming administration and the limited working days in the Senate, it will be difficult for the White House to confirm formal nominations for these positions. In other words, the "Pentagon spin" will continue for a considerable period of time, which has brought considerable variables to the operation of the global US military.