Tillerson ousted, CIA chief Pompeo replaces him as secretary of state

[chahlley18]

                                       (World Today Tuesday 13 March 2018)

   Tillerson ousted, CIA chief Pompeo replaces him as secretary of state

Reuters file photo

Updated 13 March, 2018

WASHINGTON - United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday (March 13) ousted embattled Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replaced him with intelligence chief Mike Pompeo, cutting short the tumultuous tenure of Mr Tillerson as America’s chief diplomat. 

"Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), will become our new Secretary of State," Mr Trump announced in a tweet.

"He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service!"

Mr Trump added that Gina Haspel — the current deputy director at the CIA — will be promoted to become the first woman to run the spy agency.

"Congratulations to all!" Mr Trump said.

Both she and Mr Pompeo would need confirmation by the US Senate to take the positions.

A senior Trump administration official said that the President made the decision to replace Mr Tillerson now in order to have a new team in place in advance of the upcoming talks with Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader he plans to meet by May, and various ongoing trade negotiations.

The Washington Post, which first broke the news, said that Mr Trump had asked Mr Tillerson last Friday to step aside, and the top diplomat had to cut short his trip to Africa on Monday to return to Washington.

Since he took up post in February 2017, Mr Tillerson has found himself repeatedly at odds with Mr Trump on a variety of key foreign policy issues. In July, Mr Tillerson reportedly referred to Trump as a "moron" following a meeting with the president's national security team and in October, Mr Trump tweeted that Mr Tillerson was "wasting his time" trying to negotiate with North Korea to end its nuclear and missile programmes. 

"Save your energy, Rex, we'll do what has to be done!" the president dismissively. 

While Mr Tillerson has been out of favour with Mr Trump for months, he had resisted efforts to push him out and vowed to remain on the job. But his distance from Mr Trump’s inner circle was clear last week when the president accepted an invitation to meet with Mr Kim, to the surprise of Mr Tillerson, who was travelling in Africa at the time.

In his announcement, Mr Trump focused on Mr Pompeo without explaining his decision about Mr Tillerson.

“As Director of the CIA, Mike has earned the praise of members in both parties by strengthening our intelligence gathering, modernizing our defensive and offensive capabilities, and building close ties with our friends and allies in the international intelligence community,” he said in a written statement distributed by the White House.

“I have gotten to know Mike very well over the past 14 months, and I am confident he is the right person for the job at this critical juncture,” he continued.

”He will continue our program of restoring America’s standing in the world, strengthening our alliances, confronting our adversaries, and seeking the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.”

Mr Pompeo said in a statement that he was "deeply grateful" to President Trump for permitting him to serve as CIA director and now Secretary of State.

"His leadership has made America safer and I look forward to representing him and the American people to the rest of the world to further America's prosperity," said Mr Pompeo. 

"Serving alongside the great men and women of the CIA, the most dedicated and talented public servants I have encountered, has been one of the great honours of my life."

In a statement to the Washington Post, the president added that the appointment of Ms Haspel is "a historic milestone".

"Mike and Gina have worked together for more than a year, and have developed a great mutual respect," he added.

Ms Haspel in a statement also said she was excited for her promotion.

"After 30 years as an officer of the Central Intelligence Agency, it has been my honour to serve as its Deputy Director alongside Mike Pompeo for the past year," she said. "I am grateful to President Trump for the opportunity, and humbled by his confidence in me, to be nominated to be the next Director of the Central Intelligence Agency." AGENCIES