He initially ordered them home on Wednesday after a night of more peaceful protests in the nation‘s capital, but reversed course later in the day and planned to keep them in the area for another 24 hours after further analysis, the official said.

The second reversal comes as White House aides made clear their irritation with Esper for declaring his opposition to deploying active-duty troops to quash recent unrest just two days after President Donald Trump threatened to do so. Officials say the Defense secretary is on thin ice with the president.