Christopher Charles Miller (born October 15, 1965) is an American government official who served as Acting United States Secretary of Defense from November 9, 2020 to January 20, 2021. He previously served as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center from August 10 to November 9, 2020. Prior to serving in civilian leadership at the Department of Defense, Miller was a Green Beret, commanding 5th Special Forces Group in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a defense contractor. Miller was initially the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, a role to which he was confirmed by the Senate by voice vote on August 6, 2020. He was named Acting Secretary of Defense by President Donald Trump on November 9, 2020, following Trump's firing of Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. During his tenure as acting secretary of defense, Joe Biden presidential transition staff accused Miller of obstructing the transition.During the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Miller was criticized for several reasons. He hesitated to approve assistance of National Guard troops from neighboring states to reinforce the D.C. National Guard until 4:41 PM, three hours after Capitol Police signaled that they were being overrun and two hours after city officials from the District had asked for such assistance. Two days prior, he banned the DC National Guard from touching, arresting, or searching rioters, and bringing weapons, helmets and body armor to work on January 6. Miller was succeeded by then-Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist on January 20, 2021.