#45/17 doing what he does best…
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Update 6:
According to media reports, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to begin confirmation proceedings for Mike Pompeo in April, according to a statement from committee chairman Bob Corker. Pompeo is currently the Director of the CIA. He was confirmed to that position in January 2017 with a vote of 66 to 32.
Meanwhile, Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he hasn’t had a chance to talk to Rex Tillerson today. He said he last spoke to the former Secretary of State last week, when the two discussed North Korea.
“We’ve tried to reach Tillerson,” Corker said. “I haven’t had a chance to talk with him.”
Corker added that he has enjoyed working with Tillerson and has heard “good things” about Mike Pompeo, Trump’s pick to replace Tillerson.
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Update 5:
In an amusing interlude, President Trump was asked if he fired Rex Tillerson because the former Secretary of State called him a “moron” last summer. Trump refused to answer, as the following exchange reveals:
Reporter: Did you fire him because he called you a moron?
Trump: What?
Reporter: Did you fire him because he called you a moron?
Trump: Say it again.
At that point Trump pivoted to Mike Pompeo.
Trump was asked if he fired Rex Tillerson because he called him a "moron." He didn't answer. https://t.co/8NCf07VVwy
— Meg Wagner (@megwagner) March 13, 2018
Update 4:
Some more details on how Tillerson learned he was fired: A senior White House official has told CNN that President Trump asked Chief of Staff John Kelley to call Rex Tillerson on Friday night.
The official said Kelly told Tillerson that he will be replaced but did not specify the timing. It was Trump’s decision to pull the trigger Tuesday morning, which underscored their fraught relations. “This is how the President wanted to do it,” the official said — a reflection of how the man who became famous saying “you’re fired” actually rarely does it in person.
Steve Goldstein, State Department undersecretary of public affairs, confirmed that Tillerson got a call on Friday night from Kelly with a heads up, but Goldstein did not elaborate. Goldstein insists that Tillerson was notified of the official termination in the tweet this morning.
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Update 3:
President Trump tells reporters that he and Tillerson disagreed on Iran, that he made the North Korea decision himself and thinks Tillerson will be “much happier now.” Trump said “I wish Rex Tillerson well… I very much appreciate his commitment and his service and I wish him well. He’s a good man… We got along actually quite well but we disagreed on things.
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