Pentagon policy chief John Rood is leaving his job at the end of this month, the Defense Department confirmed on Thursday, marking yet another high-level departure from the Trump administration’s senior national security ranks, Politico reported.
Rood departs as undersecretary of Defense for policy, one of the department’s most senior posts, just over two years into the job.
President Donald Trump on Thursday morning acknowledged Rood was leaving. “I would like to thank John Rood for his service to our Country, and wish him well in his future endeavors!” he tweeted.
In his resignation letter to Trump, however, Rood indicated it was the commander in chief who wanted him out.
“It’s my understanding from [Defense Secretary Mark] Esper that you requested my resignation,” Rood wrote to Trump. “Senior administration officials appointed by the President serve at the pleasure of the President, and therefore, as you have requested, I am providing my resignation effective February 28, 2020.”
James Anderson, who’s filling in for the No. 2 position in the Pentagon’s policy shop, will take over Rood’s job until a permanent replacement is named, DoD spokesperson Alyssa Farah said in a statement.
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