Trump’s week of tumult shakes many in GOP

One of the most tumultuous weeks in President Trump’s turbulent two years in office has turned up the spotlight on divisions between the White House and Republicans — particularly on foreign policy.

Trump in the last week has announced the removal of all U.S. troops from Syria and a reduction in the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, two decisions that represented a reversal from more than a decade of GOP strategy in the war against terrorism. The top U.S. envoy in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) resigned.

The decisions on Syria and Afghanistan contributed to Defense Secretary James Mattis’s resignation — a move that rattled lawmakers in both parties who had long seen the respected general as a calming or even stabilizing influence on an administration viewed at times as erratic.

View the complete December 24 article by Jordain Carney on The Hill website here.