US President Donald Trump is considering firing Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson after next month's midterm elections over her handling of his plan to establish the Space Force within the US military, according to Foreign Policy.
The news outlet cited several sources familiar with the situation as saying that aside from Trump, Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan is also displeased with Wilson's perceived campaign to undermine the US president's order to create a Space Force.
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"Shanahan hates her guts, and [US Defense Secretary James] Mattis is lukewarm at best," one of the sources pointed out.
White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters, however, insisted that Trump is not mulling Wilson's ouster and that "all reporting to the contrary is simply false."
She was echoed by chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White who called posts about Wilson's possible firing "nonsense."
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"The Department of Defense leadership team is focused on defending our great nation and working together to be worthy of the blood, treasure and faith entrusted to us by the American people," White said.
Speaking at a White House meeting on June 18, Trump said that he had ordered the Department of Defense and the Pentagon to "immediately begin the process necessary to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces."
"We have the Air Force and we're going to have the Space Force. Separate but equal," Trump added.