Takes the air out of the media’s sails.
Tom Mattis got a phone call Sunday morning from his younger brother. It wasn’t the cheeriest of conversations.
His brother, Jim Mattis, had just learned that President Donald Trump wanted him to leave his post as defense secretary on Jan. 1, rather than continue on until a planned resignation on Feb. 28.
Jim Mattis appeared unruffled by this latest development after the stormy week in Washington, D.C.
“He was very calm about the whole thing. Very matter of fact. No anger, ” Tom Mattis recalled in an interview from his home. “As I have said many times in other circumstances, Jim knows who he is … many more Americans (now) know his character.”
Tom Mattis is unsure just what will come next for his brother, or when he will return to their hometown of Richland, Wash., where they grew up while their father worked at the Hanford nuclear site and where their mother, Lucille Mattis, still resides at the age of 96.
But Tom Mattis is proud of his brother’s decision to tender his letter of resignation last week after Trump made an abrupt decision to withdraw 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria. That letter, which sent shock waves through Washington, cited his belief that the nation’s strength is “inextricably linked” to alliances and the need to treat allies with respect, and said Trump deserved a defense secretary better aligned with his views.
Tom Mattis is convinced that his brother is not yet ready for a quiet retirement.