“Their stock is very high now,” an administration official told CNN.

Since resigning as acting DNI last month, Grenell has taken several new positions both inside and outside government, including part-time work at the national security council working under O’Brien. Returning to his time as US Ambassador to Germany, Grenell had become the driving force behind the push to bring down troops there.

Since Grenell returned to the White House last year, there has been widespread belief among current national security officials that he and O’Brien have worked to isolate Esper, according to three sources who know internal dynamics. Others believe that Esper’s influence has diminished in large part because he has refused to get involved in politics.

On Thursday, Grenell pushed back to the notion that he and O’Brien had actively tried to put Esper aside, which Grenell said was present throughout the months of discussion about pulling troops out of Germany.

“The president wants a wise process from DoD,” Grenell told CNN. “At that time the whole discussion was about how much we adjusted so that some (troops) went to Poland, and how much we brought home.”

As talks continued, key disagreements arose over how many of the approximately 34,500 US troops were withdrawn. While Pentagon officials are willing to adjust the level of troops in Germany if that does not undermine US deterrence against Russia, the President openly calls the withdrawal he ordered as retaliation against Germany, which he claims does not contribute a fair share of funding to NATO.

On Wednesday, Esper left for NATO, where the topic of the potential withdrawal of US troops from Europe could not be avoided.

“Secretary Esper met with President Trump on Wednesday to discuss our presence in Europe,” said Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman. “On Monday, the Secretary will give a brief explanation to the President at the White House about the choices for the posture of our troops in Germany.”

Grenell and O’Brien

Some sources say that O’Brien is trying to position himself as the next Secretary of Defense if Trump wins a second term, and that Grenell positions himself as the next foreign minister – something he has refused or refused to admit. On Tuesday at the Students For Trump conference in Phoenix, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s ally, asked Grenell if he would serve as foreign minister in the second Trump administration. Grenell answered, “I don’t think I can answer that.”

O’Brien and Grenell have a close relationship and have known each other since the mid-2000s, when they both worked at the United Nations during the George W. Bush administration, according to a source familiar with their relationship.

O’Brien, saw Grenell as a loyal soldier to be sent to DNI, and also felt that by appointing Grenell, a figure who was very controversial even in conservatives, they might pave the way for quick confirmation of whoever was to be nominated, people said this.

While the pair has managed to gain support with Trump, their maneuvers have angered some of President’s main allies, including the Republican Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, Senator Jim Inhofe, who said O’Brien failed to give him a head. about plans to expel US troops from Germany.

“It came from O’Brien. He signed it. That’s what I understand,” the Republic of Oklahoma told reporters on Wednesday.

“I was the last to know about it,” he added. “I should be the first.”

Get rid of Esper

Sources throughout the administration told CNN that O’Brien had encouraged the President’s increasingly negative views of Esper.

For months, Trump and O’Brien have lost confidence in Esper, noting his tendency to avoid offering the President full defense or his policies, several government officials had previously told CNN.

Trump personally expressed frustration with Esper, including venturing at length during a recent weekend at Camp David, according to various sources.

O’Brien has spoken to the President about Esper’s television statement, which the White House feels is problematic or has not been sent on several occasions. In at least one example, O’Brien gave a printout to the President who compared his public comments on the topic to those made by Esper to highlight his differences.

Proximity also played a role in the division, said one source close to O’Brien. With his office in the West Wing, O’Brien can be in the Oval Office within one minute, while the time needed for Esper to travel from the Pentagon after being summoned by Trump sometimes upsets the impatient President, the source added.

Trump doesn’t seem to have a problem with O’Brien stomping on Esper’s feet, telling reporters at the White House on Monday that he intends to follow up with the recommendation of his national security adviser to move US troops stationed in Germany.

Trump reaffirmed his stance during a press conference at Rose Garden on Wednesday with Polish President Andrzej Duda. “We might move them from Germany to Poland,” Trump said, adding that he wanted to bring the level of US troops there to 25,000. “Some will go home and some will go elsewhere and Poland will be one of those places.”

Although Widower supported the transfer of troops to Poland, he insisted that he opposed reducing the total number of US troops in Europe, saying it would “seriously damage European security.”

Deeper tension with the Pentagon

Trump’s frustration with Esper is an indication of wider tension between the President and military leaders at the Pentagon.

Milley was so uncertain about his future that he personally consulted with his close colleagues, including several retired senior generals.

Tensions over how to respond to protests have flowed into steps to withdraw troops from Germany, according to several current and former officials.

While defense officials have considered moving troops from Germany in the past, US and NATO officials told CNN earlier this month that the size and timing of the reduction was unexpected.

Discussions about moving troops from Germany began early last fall, according to a government official. When the idea began to be mobilized, “middle-level” officials with the Department of Defense pushed back, instead of asking to increase the number of troops there, the person said.

In December, top US officials who attended the NATO summit in London took on the discussion and Grenell raised the issue with Esper, highlighting the President’s interest in withdrawing troops, the person said.

The Pentagon said it was working on options “consistent with the President’s direction” to significantly reduce troop numbers in Germany, but defense officials were stunned by Trump’s initial request and were largely excluded from the decision making process, sources said.

Now, it’s up to Esper to do it, despite believing that Trump’s request is logistically impossible and something NATO’s allies are personally fighting.

“Mark Esper is very aware of the physics problem” of such withdrawals, said an official.

GOP pushback

O’Brien, on the other hand, defended the move.

If successful, the move could mean a signature victory for O’Brien, but some GOP lawmakers are not happy about it. A group of Republicans, led by Rep. Michael McCaul, top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran – urged Trump not to reduce the number of troops in Germany in this week’s letter. , arguing that the move would negatively impact NATO’s ability to prevent Russian aggression.

More than 20 Republicans on the House Armed Forces Committee, including the panel chairman, Rep. Mac Thornberry, echoed that point in a separate letter earlier this month where they asked the White House to reconsider its plans.

Two congressional aides who were familiar with the outreach told CNN that they did not expect the letters would succeed in convincing Trump to change course unless Esper or Milley could intervene in certain ways.

For Inhofe, who remains Trump’s strong ally on Capitol Hill, the blame lies with O’Brien, not Trump. “He loves our troops very much and he will not do anything that will cause unbearable difficulties for our troops,” Inhofe said Wednesday about the President.

“I only know that it’s not something he will start because he knows him well.”