Trump fires defense secretary

WASHINGTON—Christopher Miller, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, will become the acting secretary of defense. President Donald Trump fired Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on Monday and announced Miller would step into the role immediately.

Why did Trump fire Esper? Trump and the defense secretary have been on the outs for months. Over the summer, Esper disagreed with the president on whether it was appropriate to use active-duty military forces to tamp down protests in the United States. He also supported the idea of renaming some military bases that honored Confederate generals.

Dig deeper: Read Jamie Dean’s report on how the days after the election are already far from “politics as usual.”