Early this morning, President Trump took to Twitter to announced that Mike Pompeo, the current director of the CIA, would be replacing Secretary Rex Tillerson at the State Department. State Department official, Steve Goldstein, told CNN that Tillerson found out about his firing via the tweet this morning.
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
Frankly, this isn’t the first time President Trump has publicly fired a high-ranking member in his administration without letting the person know in advance. For example, last summer, former FBI director James Comey found out about his firing during a speech he gave at the FBI field office in Los Angeles. As he was giving the speech, TVs in the room ran the news and was alerted of the news.
https://twitter.com/UnderSecPD/status/973554432926511105
Before leading the State Department, Rex Tillerson was the CEO and chairman of ExxonMobil for little over a decade. His appointment to become the Secretary of State was confirmed 53-46, with senators splitting mostly along party lines. Apparently, his confirmation to the position received the most opposition that any Secretary of State has received in 50 years.
Gina Haspel will be replacing Pompeo as the director of CIA, and a longtime veteran of the agency.
Both Pompeo and Haspel will have to be confirmed by the Senate before officially taking their new positions.
