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Trump shows Tillerson the door
Trump shows Tillerson the door

Trump fires Rex Tillerson

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is out, expected to be replaced by CIA Director Mike Pompeo while Gina Haspel, CIA deputy director, will be nominated to replace Director Pompeo, According to CNN.com.

President Trump told reporters earlier today that he and Rex Tillerson didn't always see eye to eye.

Throughout Tillerson's tenure in the State Department, Trump repeatedly undercut his former Secretary of State:

Tillerson urged Trump to certify Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal. Trump called the deal "one of the worst" he'd ever seen.

Tillerson pushed Trump to reaffirm support for NATO's principle of common defense. Trump pointedly didn't do it.

Tillerson worked toward a diplomatic solution in North Korea. Trump promised "fire and fury" and called the country's leader Kim Jong Un "Little Rocket Man."

Tillerson also rebutted Trump at times. Last year, Trump said there was blame on "both sides" for the violence in Charlottesville. Tillerson said "the President speaks for himself."

The moment the Trump-Tillerson relationship publicly soured

Discord between President Trump and Rex Tillerson peaked — and turned public — in October when NBC News reported that Tillerson called Trump a "moron" in a summer Pentagon meeting.

Trump was aware before the report that Tillerson had referred to him as a "moron," a source familiar with the conversation told CNN, but it's unclear whether Trump discussed the remark with Tillerson. Trump was not present at the Pentagon meeting.

During a hastily arranged statement after the report broke, Tillerson insisted he enjoys a close relationship with Trump and called him "smart" — but he would not directly deny that he'd called Trump a "moron."

Tillerson reaffirmed his commitment to Trump — and promised he wasn't quitting.

Gina Haspel will be the first woman to lead the CIA

President Trump announced that Gina Haspel, who is currently CIA deputy director, is his pick to replace Mike Pompeo as director. If confirmed, she will be the first woman to lead the agency.

“Gina, who I know very well who I have worked very closely, will be the first woman director of the CIA. She is an outstanding person who also I have gotten to know very well," Trump said.

A lot of Republicans learned about Tillerson's firing on Twitter
From CNN’s Phil Mattingly

Several senior Republican aides in both chambers say they were given no heads up on the President’s decision. Beyond the leaders, Speaker Ryan received a phone call telling him this was coming, a source says, aides say Hill Republicans were given no heads up.

“Twitter. And news alerts, just like everyone else, apparently,” one senior GOP aide who works on foreign policy said when he was asked how the Tillerson news reached the Hill.

Credit: CNN

 

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