The US Secretary of Defense intends to run for governor of Tennessee or resign.

On July 29th local time, NBC reported, citing sources, that US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper had "seriously" discussed the idea of running for governor of Tennessee next year. According to US Department of Defense regulations, civilian personnel are prohibited from running for public office. This means that Esper must resign as secretary in order to run for governor. According to reports, Department of Defense Chief Spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that this is "fake news" and added, "The secretary's current focus remains on serving President Trump and advancing the Department of Defense's 'America First' mission."