Trump rips Mattis' performance as the Pentagon seeks stability

WASHINGTON — President Trump criticized former defense secretary Jim Mattis’ performance Wednesday, as acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan stepped into his new job and the U.S. military sought to make sense of the president’s murky plans for the war in Syria.

Trump questioned how well Mattis had served as Pentagon chief, and pointed out that the retired Marine general had been removed early by the Obama administration from his last position as chief of U.S. Central Command over policy disagreements.

“What’s he done for me? How had he done in Afghanistan? Not too good,” Trump said. “As you know, President Obama fired him, and essentially so did I.”

Trump’s comments were made as the Pentagon attempted to show stability with the departure of Mattis, who is beloved by many in Trump’s political base. Mattis resigned Dec. 20, citing policy disagreements with the president, but had said he would stay on through the end of February. Days later, Trump forced him out.

Shanahan said Wednesday in a statement that he has tapped David Norquist, an undersecretary of Defense who serves as comptroller, to perform the duties of the deputy Defense secretary while Shanahan moves up from that position. Norquist has served since June 2017 as the Defense Department’s chief financial officer, and has “insight into virtually every tenet of this department,” Shanahan said.

A U.S. official said Shanahan has met with senior civilian and military officials at the Pentagon and instructed them to continue their focus on the priorities identified in the Pentagon’s National Defense Strategy, particularly competition with China. He was expected to speak with congressional leaders and officials from allied countries later in the day.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the transition, said Shanahan’s tenure as deputy Pentagon chief had prepared him for his new role and enabled him to “hit the ground running.”

With Mattis gone, another planned move — bringing in Marine Maj. Gen. Burke Whitman to serve as a new senior spokesman — will not happen. Whitman was expected to brief the media in 2019 alongside chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White, who abruptly resigned on New Year’s Eve as Mattis left the Pentagon. White is under investigation by the Defense Department inspector general amid accusations that she had subordinate staff members carry out menial tasks for her in violation of Pentagon rules.

Carter Ham, a retired Army general, described Shanahan as very capable but said he believes Trump should select a permanent Defense secretary soon for the sake of continuity.

“I think the team that is in place is a solid team. The question I have is: How long does this persist?” said Ham, who is the president and chief executive officer of the Association of the United States Army. “For lack of a better term, will the people who were on the Mattis team stay?”