Thread by @EamonJavers

I asked a Trump Administration official what to make of the dramatic moves at the Pentagon. He said: “It’s just Trump guys getting revenge on people they don’t like and padding their resumes. It doesn’t mean anything on policy front.”

But I also spoke w/a former Trump Admin official who says this indicates National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien is trying to keep his options open for the future: “There are some people inside the White House who really believe that Trump's going to pull this off.“

“The person who really wanted Mark Esper out because he coveted Mark's job is Robert O'Brien,” the former official said. “O'Brien wants someone to keep the seat warm so he could get the job [in a second Trump term]. Christopher Miller is his guy, so now he can reach in.”

This former official is dismissive of the new Pentagon brass: “Kash Patel has never worked in the Pentagon. Ezra [Cohen-Watnick] is a young guy. You can slap a title on someone for 60 days, but it has to pass the laugh test."

Now the current administration official calls this version of events from former Adm Official “crazy” and tells me: “Robert has been a huge opponent of the instability at DoD. Whoever told you that is either intentionally misleading you, or just ignorant.”