Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former oil executive who famously called his boss a “fucking moron,” is about to be fired by Trump. White House Plans Tillerson Ouster From State Dept., to Be Replaced by Pompeo, claims The New York Times.
The White House has developed a plan to force out Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, whose relationship with President Trump has been strained, and replace him with Mike Pompeo, the C.I.A. director, perhaps within the next several weeks, senior administration officials said on Thursday.
Rumor has it Tillerson is both a) refusing to cooperate with Trump’s preferred North Korea strategy of vacuous public insults and threats, and b) had the temerity to tell him that retweet British fascists’ islamophobic hate videos presented a serious diplomatic problem that could jeopardize the safety of consular staff in Muslim-majority nations.
The White House outright denies it, though.
Rex Tillerson will remain as U.S. secretary of state, a White House spokesperson said on Thursday, amid reports Tillerson will be removed in favour of Mike Pompeo, who is currently CIA director.
“When the president loses confidence in someone, they will no longer serve here,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said when asked about reports of a staff shakeup.