On Tuesday morning, President Trump announced to the country (and the world) on Twitter that Rex Tillerson would be relieved from his duties as Secretary of State and will be replaced with CIA Director Mike 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
Yes, congratulations are definitely in order … to Rex Tillerson.
There’s arguably no person in Trump’s Cabinet or White House not named Sean Spicer who feels better to be freed from the shackles of this “well-oiled machine.”
The State Department responded to Tillerson’s firing in a statement, saying, “The Secretary did not speak to the President and is unaware of the reason, but he is grateful for the opportunity to serve, and still believes strongly that public service is a noble calling.”
NEW: State Dept. statement says Sec. Tillerson “had every intention of staying…The Secretary did not speak to the President and is unaware of the reason.” https://t.co/lhhFhoY4Jh pic.twitter.com/1UuEictuOL
— ABC News (@ABC) March 13, 2018
Despite the fact that the State Department’s statement says that Tillerson had every intention of staying, media speculation would have us think otherwise. His tenure was largely forgettable, and noticeably more difficult.
Recall that in October 2017, Tillerson was reported to have called President Trump a “moron.” He dismissed the report saying, “I’m not going to deal with petty stuff like that.”
The change at the helm of State signals that Trump is getting a new team in place ahead of his prospective meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Getting the meeting in place is arguably one of President Trump’s biggest foreign policy achievements, yet Tillerson was noticeably absent from any conversation relating to it.
Perhaps Tillerson’s ineffectiveness as Secretary of State led to his ouster. But he kept the boat afloat and avoided causing any prolific international incidents himself (President Trump’s Twitter account took did more than enough of that).
At the very least, Tillerson can say he tried to serve his country under some rather harsh conditions. So, happy trails, Rex.
