Top Pentagon Official Who Issued Warnings About Ukraine Aid Freeze To Resign

on January 29, 2019 in Washington, DC.
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 29: Defense Undersecretary for Policy, John Rood (L), and Vice Adm. Michael Gilday, director of operations (J3) for the Joint Staff, appear before the House Armed Services Committee on Capit... WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 29: Defense Undersecretary for Policy, John Rood (L), and Vice Adm. Michael Gilday, director of operations (J3) for the Joint Staff, appear before the House Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill, January 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. The committee heard testimony on the Department of Defense's support to the southern border. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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A top Defense Department official who internally raised concerns about freezing military aid to Ukraine has been asked by his national security superiors to resign and is stepping down.

Under Secretary of Defense for Policy at the Pentagon John Rood authored emails pushing for the aid to be released, according to CNN.

The departure was first reported by CNN and Bloomberg, and has since been confirmed to TPM by an administration official.

President Trump’s July order to halt the aid was the focus of the recent impeachment proceedings, which ended this month in a Senate acquittal vote. Rood is one of several administration officials caught up in the Ukraine mess who have since left the administration or were otherwise ousted from their positions.

Bloomberg News reported that Trump officials believed he was not executing the President’s agenda quickly enough because he did not fully agree with the policies.

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Notable Replies

  1. Another American hero goes into that long, good night.

  2. Please leave the lights on when you leave, Mr. Rood. It’s getting difficult to see in the shadow of Republican authoritarianism.

  3. Rood was pressured by his national security superiors to resign, according to the reports. Bloomberg News reported that Trump officials believed he was not executing the President’s agenda quickly enough because he did not fully agree with the policies.

    reminder

  4. Avatar for j.dave j.dave says:

    I don’t know if the infrastructure can handle too many more weeks of this.

  5. So the guy who did his job and approved the aid because Ukraine had met all the criteria is being ousted? Competency is not a core value in this administration.

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