The initial reaction to the firing/forced resignation of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer is that this was yet another manifestation of the Trump swamp. After all, Spencer suggested that the Navy, not Trump, ought to be in charge of the fate of disgraced SEAL Edward Gallagher. According to at least one rec-list diary, this is why Spencer was pushed out by Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
But according to CNN, it looks like this isn’t the case.
In an extraordinary move, the Pentagon chief "fired" the Navy secretary for going outside his chain of command by proposing a "secret agreement with the White House," according to a senior defense official.
The agreement that led to Navy Secretary Richard Spencer's forced resignation involved the case of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher. The official said Spencer had proposed to the White House a review with a secret guarantee that Gallagher would be allowed to keep his status as a SEAL. That would go counter to the ongoing review underway by the Navy to take away Gallagher's status.
(snip)
Spencer, the official said, was not "fired" for failing to carry out Trump's wishes, because the President had not wanted a review at all.
Spencer went around his own chain of command -- namely Defense Secretary Mark Esper -- and straight to the White House, a violation of military policy, the official said. (emphasis mine)
The reading I’m getting is that Spencer’s attempt to broker a deal directly with Trump is exactly the way Trump believes things should be done in Washington. He expects matters like this to go straight to him—and such little things as pecking orders, protocol, and chains of command be hanged. Remember, Preet Bharara recalled that not long before he was dumped as U. S. Attorney for SDNY, Trump tried to
contact him directly—a violation of long-standing Justice Department policy that the White House does not have direct contact with federal prosecutors.
Trump seems to think he can run the government like he ran his real estate empire. Remember, for his entire life, he has either been CEO of what became the Trump Organization or the heir apparent. He’s used to people jumping when he snaps—and either doesn’t know, doesn’t understand or refuses to understand that’s not the way things work in a functioning democracy.
From where I’m sitting, Esper didn’t cashier Spencer for refusing to go along with Trump’s wishes. He was fired for trying to conform to the way Trump wants government to operate. It’s yet another reminder that Trump does not have the skill set to be president.