President Donald Trump is planning to oust Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who reportedly last summer referred to him as a “moron,” and things haven’t gotten better since, US media reported Thursday afternoon, citing administration officials. In a few weeks, apparently, Tillerson’s post will be filled by CIA director Mike Pompeo, who will be replaced by Senator Tom Cotton, (R-Ark.).
In the summer of 2015, Pompeo was critical of the Iran nuclear deal and said the deal “won’t stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb and places Israel at more risk.” He also criticized the Obama administration for not insisting that Iran give up its anti-Israel agenda as a precondition for the deal – an idea proposed by PM Netanyahu. In November 2015, after the Obama administration had pushed the deal through, Pompeo visited Israel and met with Netanyahu, whom he called “a true partner of the American people.”
Pompeo also said, “Our conversation was incredibly enlightening as to the true threats facing both Israel and the United States. Netanyahu’s efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons are incredibly admirable and deeply appreciated.”
According to the NY Times, the only reason the shuffle at DOS and CIA will not happen is because the White House is concerned about other senior officials fleeing the Trump ship in early 2018. The White House is in mid-debate over whether it would be more beneficial in terms of PR to spread out the next few departures or tear off the Band-Aid at once.
Pompeo is Trump’s favorite to replace Tillerson, despite the strong popularity on the right of UN envoy Nikki Haley, who has been seen as the best choice for the bump to Secretary of State.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is rumored to be behind Tillerson’s ouster, after having defended him to Trump over the summer. Despite Tillerson’s substantial effort to streamline DOS, laying off more than 2,000 career diplomats and slashing the department’s budget. It appears that Kelly has reached the conclusion that Trump and Tillerson are never going to heal their relationship.