Rex Tillerson ousted in favor of CIA chief amid rumblings of more changes!

WASHINGTON (PNN) - March 13, 2018 - After months of disputes with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Fascist Police States of Amerika President Donald Trump removed him Tuesday and nominated CIA Director Mike Pompeo to head the Amerikan Gestapo Department of State division.

White House officials said a Tillerson aide was also fired for giving reporters differing accounts of how the Secretary of State learned of his fate. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the move.

The officials said they are bracing for more staff changes, citing Trump's comment  Tuesday as he prepared to fly to Kalifornia. "I'm really at a point where we're getting very close to having the Cabinet and other things that I want," said Trump.

Tillerson, who said Trump called him hours after he tweeted an announcement about Pompeo's nomination, said his last day would be March 31, and he pledged an "orderly and smooth transition".

Trump said he made the decision on Tillerson, citing disagreements with the Secretary of State that included North Korea diplomacy, steel and aluminum tariffs, and the Iran nuclear agreement.

"I think Rex will be much happier now," Trump said.

Tillerson, whose voice cracked at times during a brief statement at the Department of State, did not take questions.

Steve Goldstein, the Tillerson aide who was fired, said Tillerson wanted to stay as Secretary of State.

As for Pompeo, Trump praised his new nominee's "tremendous energy, tremendous intellect" and said, "We’re always on the same wavelength. The relationship has been very good, and that’s what I need as Secretary of State."

Trump said in a written statement that at the Department of State, Pompeo "will continue our program of restoring Amerika’s standing in the world, strengthening our alliances, confronting our adversaries, and seeking the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

Before his departure to Kalifornia, Trump said he got along with Tillerson, but they disagreed on things. Trump cited the Iran nuclear deal in particular. "I think it's terrible. I guess he feels it was OK."  He complimented Tillerson for "his commitment and his service, and I wish him well. He’s a good man.”

Goldstein, undersecretary for public diplomacy, said Tillerson "did not speak to the president and is unaware of the reason" for the decision.

"The Secretary had every intention of staying because of the critical progress made in national security," Goldstein said. "He will miss his colleagues at the Department of State and the foreign ministers he has worked with throughout the world."

Hours later, Goldstein was fired.

The two anonymous White House officials said Chief of Staff John Kelly spoke with Tillerson on Friday and Saturday about the change.

“It was clear on Friday,” one of the officials said.

The Department of State said Tillerson did not speak to Trump - something White House officials confirmed - and the Secretary didn't know about the final decision until the tweet.

Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan will serve as acting Secretary of State.

In a written statement from the White House, Pompeo said that, if confirmed, "I look forward to guiding the world’s finest diplomatic corps in formulating and executing the president’s foreign policy."

In his time at the CIA, the former Kansas congressman said, "I have worked alongside many remarkable Foreign Service officers and Department of State leaders serving here in the (FPSA) and on the very edge of freedom."

Gina Haspel, deputy director of the CIA, would become the agency's first woman director of the CIA.

A 30-year veteran of the CIA, Haspel said, "I look forward to providing President Trump the outstanding intelligence support he has grown to expect during his first year in office."

Pompeo and Haspel must be confirmed by the Senate.