Just one day after the president said he’s pulling U.S. troops out of Syria, Defense Secretary James Mattis submitted his resignation. Mattis said he is stepping down in February because of differences in viewpoints with the president. Mr Mattis is said to have offered his resignation during a meeting on Thursday. The defence secretary is the latest high-profile exit from the Trump administration since the midterm elections last month, and reflects what has been seen as a cooling of relations between the two men since Mr Trump took office.
Mr Trump tried to paint Mr Mattis leaving as a retirement in a tweeted announcement, but it is clear from Mr Mattis’ resignation letter that there were deep differences in opinion. In his own letter announcing his retirement, Mr Mattis suggested that he and the president do not see eye-to-eye on foreign policy initiatives, and appeared to rebuke Mr Trump’s diplomatic style that has been viewed as brash and insulting worldwide.
CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang reports.
