WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st December, 2018) US lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle condemned the Trump administration's policies including the withdrawal from Syria for pushing US Defense Secretary James Mattis to resign.
On Thursday, Mattis in a resignation letter said he was stepping down at the end of February citing the fact that Trump needed to find a defense chief whose views were more aligned with his own. The move came a day after the White House said the United States was withdrawing troops from Syria.
"President Trump is plunging the country into chaos," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday. "The market's down another 500 points, General Mattis is stepping down and we know he has real disagreements with the president in Syria and on the wall."
Schumer added that Mattis was one of a few symbols of strength and stability in the administration which is now in chaos.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio said Mattis' resignation makes it clear that the United States is headed towards a series of grave policy errors that will endanger the country, damage its alliances and empower its adversaries.
Senator Dick Durbin said the United States has lost the "adult in the room when the President goes off on a tweet-filled, uninformed rant about our national security."
Senator Lindsey Graham said via Twitter that Mattis is a man of intellect and integrity, who had been in the fight against radical islam for decades and provided sound and ethical military advice to Trump.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan said the United States has become a safer country at home and a more commanding force overseas with Mattis serving as the head of the Department of Defense.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday citing unnamed officials that Trump has ordered the US military to reduce its footprint in Afghanistan by some 7,000 troops.
