 President Trump is ending his presidency the same way it started, unconventionally. Only this time, our Pentagon is alarmed. Trump's recent firing of Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has sparked controversy as it comes within just weeks of him losing re-election. So why is he making these decisions? Well, just months ago, following the death of George Floyd, protesters took to the streets nationwide, and in Washington, tear gas and flashbanks were unleashed upon peaceful protesters in order to make way for Trump's photoshoot outside of the St. John Episcopal Church. Trump later threatened to deploy troops to end nationwide protests, saying that we will dominate the streets. Esper contradicted this rhetoric and refused to invoke the Insurrection Act that would deploy active duty troops on American protesters. Esper also expressed his concerns in regards to Trump's acceleration of withdrawing troops from the Middle East, which ultimately led to his firing. Going beyond Secretary Esper, Trump has replaced several top officials within the Defense Department and the Pentagon, which worries the intelligence community as it may make the Biden transition much harder than it should be. All of this comes at a time where the White House announced that it will pull thousands of troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan by January 15th. Although Americans heavily favor ending our military presence in the Middle East, rapidly removing troops may cause serious consequences for a future Biden administration to face. Esper said that rapidly removing our military presence could pose a danger for remaining troops and even undermine peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government. I'm Park Alishoi, CalTV News.