CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) – U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin called the ousted Secretary of the Navy "a straight-shooter" he respects.
At the center of the departure of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer is President Trump. Trump has been staunchly supporting Navy Seal Edward Gallagher, who was acquitted of murdering an Islamic State prisoner but convicted of posing for a photograph with his corpse.
Gallagher was demoted, but President Trump reversed that.
In the wake of disagreements about the case, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer is out of a job.
"I know the secretary. I work with him all the time. He's a former combat pilot in the Navy. A straight-shooter. I respect him,” Durbin told reporters Monday.
"I believe that he was asked by the president to do something he didn't feel he could do in good conscience, and he resigned. I'm not surprised."
Durbin appeared at a Near North Side health center, reminding people who need to enroll in the Affordable Care Act insurance program that the signup deadline is Dec. 15.