Top Defense Department official quits, fueling more uncertainty at the Pentagon

James Anderson, who served as acting undersecretary of defense for policy, informed colleagues of his immediate departure just hours after Christopher Miller, an intelligence official, started his first full day as acting defense secretary, according to several officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

Trump fired Mark Esper, his fourth defense secretary, and installed Miller on Monday, as the president and his allies contest the results of the Nov. 3 presidential election. 

Esper's departure had been expected since June, when the Pentagon chief broke with Trump over the president's desire to use active-duty troops to address protests related to race and police violence. 

The turmoil came as the Trump administration blocked the incoming administration from the expected transition of government, as Trump refuses to concede after losing the election to former vice president Joe Biden. Three defense officials said that the Defense Department was awaiting approval from the General Services Administration to begin the transition.

Anderson, a retired Marine Corps intelligence officer, was confirmed in 2018 to be the Pentagon's assistant secretary for plans and strategy but, because of the high turnover and numerous vacancies at the senior levels of the Pentagon during the Trump administration, has served in the top policy job on an interim basis since earlier this year. 

The undersecretary for policy, among the Pentagon's most senior positions, is responsible for crafting decisions about defense strategy, the employment of American forces and the options the Pentagon provides to the White House on military matters. He or she also interacts with senior foreign officials. 

It was not immediately clear who would take Anderson's place. Among those expected to be in the running is Anthony Tata, a retired Army general who was previously nominated to become undersecretary for policy but whose nomination was put on hold this summer because of resistance on Capitol Hill. 

Tata encountered opposition from Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee for a series of tweets that included calling former president Barack Obama a "terrorist leader," describing Islam as a violent religion and suggesting that former CIA director John Brennan attempted to order the assassination of Trump. Tata, who was subsequently appointed as Anderson's deputy on an interim basis, later said he misspoke in the social media posts. 

Defense News reported that Tata, a former Fox News commentator who was advanced for the job by the White House rather than Esper, had been temporarily appointed to Anderson's position. Anderson's departure was first reported by Politico. 

Tata left the military in 2009 after an Army inspector general found he had several extramarital affairs in violation of military rules. 

His appointment could mark a further blow for morale in the Pentagon's policy shop, where officials have been faced with leadership turmoil and the vicissitudes of Trump's foreign and defense policy. Trump has often made decisions affecting the military on the fly, overturning Pentagon plans on Twitter.

It was not clear what the priorities of Miller, a former Special Forces soldier and longtime counterterrorism official who is little known outside Washington policy circles, will be during his tenure as acting defense secretary, or how he will handle the tensions surrounding the election.

While Biden's victory was projected on Saturday, Trump has yet to concede and is supporting an array of legal challenges to the result. Defense leaders have so far remained silent about the election's outcome.