Breaking but not unexpected news this morning.
The Washington Post reports that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has effectively been fired by President Trump from his post. His replacement will be CIA Chief Mike Pompeo.
From the report:
President Trump has ousted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replaced him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, orchestrating a major change to his national security team amid delicate negotiations with North Korea, White House officials said Tuesday.
Trump last Friday asked Tillerson to step aside, and the embattled top diplomat cut short his trip to Africa on Monday to return to Washington.
BREAKING: Trump ousts Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, will replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo https://t.co/akCUb2ExE2
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 13, 2018
This change has been a long time coming. It’s no secret that Trump has been dissatisfied with Tillerson’s performance, and wants someone more aligned with his America-First interests at Foggy Bottom
Last summer, we reported that tensions came to a head between Trump and Tillerson after the now-former Secretary of State referred to the President as a “moron” during a meeting. Tillerson then considered resigning but held off.
This entire debacle was actually predicted last fall by Maggie Haberman of the New York Times, who reported that Trump and a few close advisors were developing a plan to let Tillerson go in favor of Pompeo. It looks like Trump finally thought it was time to drop the hammer on Tillerson.
This event will mark a major change in Trump’s foreign policy, which, given last week’s surprise announcement about Trump meeting with North Korea, is heading in a new, more unpredictable direction.
What do you think about this breaking news? Are you surprised Tillerson has been kicked out of the State Department? What do you think of Trump’s new Secretary of State? Tell us your thoughts below!