Sept 19 (Askume) – Former U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who was ousted by Donald Trump and became a fierce critic of the former Republican president, has joined Squire Barton Boggs as a senior adviser , the U.S. law firm said on Thursday.
Esper, who is not a lawyer, will retain his position as chairman of the national security business of venture capital firm Red Blood Cell Partners, a Red Blood Cell spokesman said.
Esper could not immediately be reached for comment. Squire Barton Boggs said in a statement that business leaders were taking swift action to address national security concerns.
Trump fired Esper a few days after Esper lost the 2020 U.S. presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden. He became one of the first members of Trump’s Cabinet to publicly disown his former boss , telling MSNBC in May 2022 that Trump lacked integrity and put his personal interests ahead of those of the United States.
Earlier this month, Esper joined a group of former senior US military officialsSupport Trump’s 2024 rival, Vice President Kamala Harris .
in July 2019He became Defense Secretary after his predecessor Jim Mattis resigned in protest of Trump’s foreign policy decisions . Esper was serving as Army Secretary when his appointment was confirmed by the US Senate.
Esper said in his memoir that Trump asked the military at least twice in 2020 if he could “fire missiles into Mexico to destroy a drug lab.” Esper wrote that they responded that that would be illegal and an act of war.
Mark Ruhlman, the firm’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement that Esper’s appointment is a boon for Squire Patton Boggs’ clients, who are facing “economic uncertainty due to increasingly volatile geopolitical tensions and national security challenges due to a political environment that has dramatically increased.”
