Washington, November 9: Mark Esper, the Defence Secretary in the Donald Trump administration was shunted out on Monday with the President announcing on Twitter that he been terminated. His role, for the interim period, would be fulfilled by Christopher C Miller, who is currently heading the National Counterterrorism Center. Melania Trump Wants Donald Trump to Accept His Loss & Concede Defeat to Joe Biden: Report.

Speculations were rife over the past couple of months that Esper could be fired from his job. The Defence Secretary had reportedly developed friction in ties with the White House, after he marked his apprehensions in June over Trump's threat to deploy military to quell the protests that erupted after George Floyd's murder.

Trump, in a social media post, announced Miller as the replacement of Esper. The choice has been unanimously ratified by majority of the Senate, he said.

"I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. Miller, the highly respected Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (unanimously confirmed by the Senate), will be Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately," Trump said.

"Chris will do a GREAT job! Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service," the President added in another tweet.

See Donald Trump's Tweet

Esper, as part of his recent assignment, had headed to India last month along with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The two leaders were involved in a crucial 2+2 ministerial dialogue with the Defence Minister and External Affairs Minister of India.

The termination of Esper comes two days after Trump's challenger Joe Biden was projected as winner of the US presidential election 2020. The result, however, has been contested by Trump who would be moving the Supreme Court to seek the rejection of what he described as "illegal ballots".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 10, 2020 12:19 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).