Politico | Official who once called Obama a ‘terrorist leader’ takes over Pentagon policy
- Retired general Anthony Tata in charge as James Anderson, acting undersecretary of defence for policy, resigns after clashing with White House
- His resignation comes one day after Pentagon chief Mark Esper was fired by President Donald Trump
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Lara Seligman and Daniel Lippman on politico.com on November 10, 2020.
Anthony Tata, a retired brigadier general whose nomination for a top Pentagon job collapsed this summer due to Islamophobic tweets and other controversial statements, began overseeing policy for the US Defence Department on Tuesday.
The move is part of a high-level civilian leadership shake-up that began on Monday when President Donald Trump fired Defence Secretary Mark Esper.
A defence official confirmed that Tata, who had been performing the duties as the No 2 for policy, is now running the organisation following the Tuesday resignation of acting policy chief James Anderson, first reported by POLITICO.
Anderson was confirmed in June as the No 2 policy official but had been acting in the top job. He had been expected to be asked by the White House to resign in the next few days.