When acting U.S. Defense Secretary Christopher Miller arrived at the Pentagon on Monday, stumbling up the steps and taking off his mask, four Defense Department officials—all loyalists to President Donald Trump—were waiting for him inside. They had been given a heads-up by the White House that Miller was on the way.
By the end of the next day, the four men would be at or near the top of the Defense Department’s radically altered organization chart after a White House-directed bloodletting remade the agency’s leadership. Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to contest President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral victory, citing unfounded claims of voter fraud, and is plowing ahead with preparations for a highly implausible second term, leaving officials fearing that more firings could be in the offing.
