Mark Esper

Mark Esper

Mark Thomas Esper is an American politician and defense strategist who served as the 27th United States Secretary of Defense from July 2019 to November 2020. Esper served as an infantry officer with the 101st Airborne Division and saw active service in the Gulf War. He is a graduate of West Point and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

About Mark Esper in brief

Summary Mark EsperMark Thomas Esper is an American politician and defense strategist who served as the 27th United States Secretary of Defense from July 2019 to November 2020. Esper served as an infantry officer with the 101st Airborne Division and saw active service in the Gulf War. After leaving military service, he was a Senate staffer, chief of staff at the Heritage Foundation, and Vice President for Government Relations at Raytheon. In 2020, Esper refused to deploy active-duty military troops against anti-police brutality protestors, which reportedly angered President Trump. On November 9, 2020, Trump announced via Twitter that Esper had been terminated from his position. Esper was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, the son of Pauline \”Polly\” Reagan and Thomas Joseph Esper. His father was a member of the Maronite Church. His paternal grandfather was an immigrant from Lebanon, and his uncle was war journalist George Esper. He was confirmed to the post by the U.S. Senate on November 15, 2017, and sworn in on November 20, 2017. Esper is a recipient of the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service. He is a graduate of West Point and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He received a doctorate in public policy from George Washington University in 2008. He also served as executive vice president of the Global Intellectual Property Center and vice president for Europe and Eurasia at the United States. Chamber of Commerce. Esper has been recognized as a top corporate lobbyist by The Hill in 2015 and 2016.

He has been awarded the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge. In 2017, he joined the Trump administration as the 23rd United States secretary of the Army. President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Esper to the position on June 19, 2017; he was confirmed by 89–6 vote of the U S. Senate. In February 2018, Esper said that he had met with several transgender servicemembers and had no concerns about serving beside openly transgender individuals. In July 2017, under his Presidential Memorandum of Understanding, he required the Department. of Defense to produce a report on this subject. In August 2017, Esper was asked by reporters if he had any concerns about transgender soldiers. He replied: “It hasn’t come up up up to me.” He was nominated to become an Army secretary in November 2017. In November 2017, President Trump announced that he was withdrawing Esper from the position following the withdrawals of Vincent Viola and Vincent Green, following the withdrawal of Vincent Green’s withdrawal from the post. In January 2018, he said he had no objections to Esper as an Army Secretary. In March 2018, President DonaldTrump announced that Esper would not be serving as Army secretary. In April 2018, the White House announced that it would be replacing Esper as Army Secretary with Gen. Robert Kelly. In May 2018, it was announced that Kelly would be replaced by Gen. Mark Esper.