President Donald Trump has defended his decision to pull US troops out of Syria, criticizing personnel from his national security team who resigned this week.
Trump announced the provocative decision on Wednesday after he declared victory against Daesh terrorists in Syria.
Following the announcement, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis offered his resignation with State Department's senior envoy to the so-called anti-Daesh coalition, Brett McGurk, resigning from his post afterwards.
Trump said in a tweet Saturday that McGurk’s tenure was slated to expire in February, accusing him of blowing his exit out of proportion.
News reports on Friday said that McGurk would leave the Trump administration in February, but hastened his decision because of Trump's order.
In another tweet, Trump slated the media for their coverage of his decision, which several news outlets said was made without Trump first consulting senior officials at the Pentagon.
In a later massage, he attacked Mattis directly, saying he had given the former general a second chance after first being fired by former President Barack Obama.
He also criticized a section of the defense secretary’s official resignation letter that detailed the need for close ties with US allies.
Meanwhile, senior members of the Republican Party have expressed concern about Trump's decision, vowing to investigate the resignation of Mattis.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who said the resignation had saddened him, vowed to hold a hearing with Mattis in attendance to investigate the troop withdrawal.
“I’m going to ask for hearings like right now about Syria,” he said, before heading into a meeting with Republicans.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James M. Inhofe, who is a Republican from Oklahoma, noted that it was “inappropriate” for the president to have ignored his national security advisers.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
