US President Donald Trump  said that he had “terminated” Defense Secretary Mark Esper. With over 70 days left in office after his November 3 election defeat, the move appears as an attempt by Trump to settle scores with his administration.

Taking to Twitter, Trump announced that Christopher C Miller, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, would become the Acting Secretary of Defense.

“I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. Miller, the highly respected Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (unanimously confirmed by the Senate), will be Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately..,” tweeted the President. “…Chris will do a GREAT job! Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service,” he said in another tweet.

Esper was Trump’s second defence secretary after James Mattis resigned over policy differences with the president. Esper had been out of favour with Trump for opposing the suggestion to use active duty troops to suppress protests over racial injustice in the United States during the summer.

Trump was projected defeated in a closely contested election against current President-elect Joe Biden, a four-decade Washington figure who was a Senator and then became vice president.

After Biden was projected as the 46th president of the United States, Trump refused to concede defeat, saying that the election was “far from over”, and promised legal challenges by his re-election campaign.