Defense Secretary James Mattis To Leave January 1st ; Trump Taps Patrick Shanahan As Acting Secretary of Defense ⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫ "The end date for my tenure is February 28, 2019, a date that should allow sufficient time for a successor to be nominated and confirmed as well as to make sure the Department's interests are properly articulated and protected at upcoming events to include Congressional posture hearings and the NATO Defense Ministerial meeting in February," Mattis wrote Thursday. It was not immediately clear why Mattis' departure date was apparently moved up, but tension in the Defense Department has skyrocketed since his sudden resignation. Sources told Fox News this week that Mattis' resignation was "in protest" over the president's national security policies and that more resignations could be coming. U.S. officials said this week that the Trump administration is making plans to pull all 2,000 troops out of Syria, and Trump later tweeted that “we have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.” Trump has stood by his Syria decision despite fierce blowback, telling detractors that the pullout should come as “no surprise” given his 2016 campaign promises and arguing that America’s role as “Policeman of the Middle East” is not worth the sacrifice. ⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫ ( Full story below ) ⤵ ⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫ https://fxn.ws/2EHSfuI