Remember those “rumors” about how Rex Tillerson wasn’t going to be leaving his post as Secretary of State after months of speculation?
And remember how furious Trump was when NBC reported that America’s top diplomat once called the President a “fucking moron” after the leader of the free world suggested that the country should increase its nuclear arsenal “tenfold” just because he didn’t like the look of a downward sloping chart?
Yeah, well as it turns out, Rex is on his way out to be replaced by Mike Pompeo:
- WHITE HOUSE IS SAID TO PLAN FOR POMPEO REPLACING TILLERSON: NYT
There have long been rumors that Trump and Tillerson don’t see eye-to-eye and a steady stream of leaks and innuendo suggesting that the State Department is in turmoil have been a staple of the news cycle during Trump’s young presidency.
The President didn’t help matters when he undermined the nation’s top diplomat in October, famously tweeting the following after Tillerson indicated that there was an open communication channel between Washington and Pyongyang:
I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 1, 2017
“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, within the next several weeks,” the Times reports on Thursday morning, citing senior administration officials.
Apparently, John Kelly has been working on the transition plan and is set to implement it by the end of the year or at the very latest, in early 2018.
As far as Pompeo goes, you’re reminded that he met with a conspiracy theorist last month at Trump’s request and as the Times notes, he’s been variously criticized by the intelligence community for being too political. So I guess heading up State is a better fit for him.
Although as the Times goes on to detail, “Pompeo would be replaced at the C.I.A. by Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas who has been a key ally of the president on national security matters.” So it’s not clear that the C.I.A. is going to benefit here in terms of being depoliticized.
Cotton has indicated he would be up to accepting the job if called upon, the officials who spoke to the Times said.
Now it’s time to roll out the tweets:
Rex Tillerson never threatened to resign. This is Fake News put out by @NBCNews. Low news and reporting standards. No verification from me.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2017
The @NBCNews story has just been totally refuted by Sec. Tillerson and @VP Pence. It is #FakeNews. They should issue an apology to AMERICA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2017
I have chosen one of the truly great business leaders of the world, Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, to be Secretary of State.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2016
Sorry Nikki Haley, I guess you were just “de facto”, “interim”, “acting” Secretary of State while Trump decided which man to replace Tillerson with.
"Mr. Tillerson wanted to spend more time with his permanently tax-deferred capital gains."
— Ivan the K™ (@IvanTheK) November 30, 2017
Finally, don’t forget that “the President speaks for himself”…
After leaking this, Tillerson has zero authority inside Foggy Bottom and abroad. They better pull the trigger on this plan very quickly. Perhaps they are waiting for Cotton to pass the tax cuts and spending bills.
So, now time has come, with just a little delay – just what needed to find a proper replacement: Gina.