WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 11: Former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of State, testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee January 11, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Tillerson is expected to face tough questions regarding his ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Engidu Woldie
ESAT News (March 13, 2018)
President Donald Trump has fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and is replacing him with Director of the CIA.
The news came this morning in the form of the President’s tweet.
U.S. Secretary of State and former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Several media outlets quoted White House press secretary Sarah Sanders assaying that Trump asked Tillerson to step aside.
“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!” Trump tweeted this morning.
Tillerson was in a week long visit to five African countries. He was in Ethiopia last Wednesday. But he cuts his tour short on Friday, visited Chad and Nigeria on the same day and headed to the U.S.
Apparently, he got the pink slip when he arrived in DC on Friday.