Mike Pompeo, Photo Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons
President Donald Trump has decided to replace Rex Tillerson as America’s top diplomat with CIA director Mike Pompeo and elevate senior intelligence official Gina Haspel as leader of the Central Intelligence Agency, the first woman to hold the position.
Trump’s decision to have a new secretary of state comes after a year of turbulent relationship with Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil executive, with the two often voicing surprisingly divergent views on foreign affairs including talks with North Korea.
According to a White House official, President Trump wants to install a new team in time for talks with North Korea over denuclearization of Pyongyang and the tough international trade negotiations.
In November 2017, The New York Times had reported that White House chief of staff John Kelly had a secret to replace Tillerson with Pompeo.
Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2018
The latest instance of disconnect between the White House and Tillerson came last week when only a day after ruling out immediate talks with Pyongyang, Tillerson got the news during a travel in Africa that President Trump had agreed to a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
But Trump also thanked Tillerson on Tuesday and wished him well for the future.
Tillerson, who was often seen in the media as a weak secretary of state with an ineffective handling of the State Department, had returned to Washington D.C. on Tuesday from an African trip. As of Tuesday morning, Tillerson was reportedly unaware of the reasons for his removal.
President Trump’s choice of the new director CIA Gina Haspel is currently serving as deputy director at the spy agency.
