Mark Esper, the former U.S. Secretary of Defense who was fired by Donald Trump and later became a vocal critic of the former president, has joined Squire Patton Boggs as a senior adviser, the law firm announced on Thursday. Despite not being a lawyer, Esper will continue his role as chairman of the national security practice at Red Cell Partners, a venture capital firm, according to a spokesperson from Red Cell.
In a statement released by Squire Patton Boggs, Esper highlighted that corporate leaders are increasingly facing national security concerns. Esper himself could not immediately be reached for further comment.
Trump dismissed Esper shortly after losing the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden. Following his firing, Esper became one of the first former Trump cabinet members to publicly criticize the ex-president, stating in a May 2022 interview with MSNBC that Trump lacked integrity and prioritized his personal interests over the country’s welfare.
Earlier this month, Esper joined other top former U.S. military officials in endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, one of Trump’s rivals for the 2024 presidential election.
Esper served as defense secretary starting in July 2019, following the resignation of his predecessor, Jim Mattis, who stepped down in protest of Trump’s foreign policy. Before his Senate confirmation, Esper had been serving as secretary of the Army. In his memoir, Esper revealed that Trump asked him multiple times in 2020 whether the U.S. military could fire missiles into Mexico to target drug labs, a request Esper rejected as illegal and an act of war.
Squire Patton Boggs CEO Mark Ruehlmann praised Esper’s hiring, noting that his expertise would benefit clients facing a rise in national security challenges amid growing geopolitical instability.
