Trump (left) former Acting Secretary of Defense Richard Spencer (right) Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty Images file
NORFOLK, Va. — Richard Spencer, the Navy secretary fired from the Trump administration after he opposed the president’s intervention in the discipline of a SEAL accused of murder, will endorse Democrat Mike Bloomberg during an appearance with the candidate here on Friday, according to the Bloomberg campaign.
Spencer, who also briefly served as President Donald Trump’s acting defense secretary during summer 2019, becomes the first Trump political appointee to back one of the president’s potential November opponents.
In a statement released Friday morning by the campaign, Spencer said, “I am proud to endorse Mike Bloomberg for president of the United States. … He will preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and uphold the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”
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Spencer left the Trump administration in November 2019 after Defense Secretary Mark Esper asked for his resignation. Three days after his resignation, Spencer published an opinion article in the Washington Post saying Trump “has very little understanding of what it means to be in the military.”
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In his statement endorsing Bloomberg, Spencer said, “Restoring America’s standing in the world and repairing relationships with our allies will be a top priority in Mike’s administration.”
Spencer was sworn in as Navy secretary in August 2017. For just over a week in July 2019, after Patrick Shanahan’s departure and before Mark Esper’s Senate confirmation, he was the acting secretary of defense. He served in the Marine Corps as an aviator from 1976 to 1981.
Navy Vet
Article URL : https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/trump-s-former-navy-secretary-richard-spencer-will-endorse-mike-n1132041