INSANIT Y!
CIA boss for his job; torturer for intel post
Huckabee Sanders called the attack “reckless, indiscriminate and irresponsible,” but stopped short of blaming Russia.
Tillerson reportedly spoke to Trump on the phone hours after his firing, but did not mention the President in short remarks he gave at the State Department.
A subdued Tillerson praised the efforts of the diplomats there and said he’ll return to his private life a “proud American.”
The former oilman has long been rumored to be unhappy with Trump’s constant undermining of the State Department’s stance on major issues.
Trump last year tweeted that Tillerson was “wasting his time” trying to negotiate with Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programs.
Last week, Trump unilaterally decided to accept a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The outgoing secretary reportedly referred to Trump as a “moron” following a meeting with the President and his national security team last year.
State Department employees have complained that the agency has been decimated under Tillerson and a host of positions remain unfilled.
“Tillerson will go down as one of the weakest least effective secretaries in history for 2 reasons: 1) his terrible relationship with Trump; & 2) his total mismanagement of the department,” tweeted Ilan Goldenberg, an Obama-era State Department official.
Pompeo, a former congressman from Kansas who was elected during the 2010 Tea Party surge, is a loyal Trump supporter who is likely to be more hawkish than the man he’s replacing.
While Tillerson and Trump differed on many topics, Pompeo’s worldview is more in line with the President.
He is a harsh critic of the Obama era nuclear deal with Iran, supports harsh interrogation techniques, backs Trump’s aggressive tone toward North Korea and has been seen by critics as weak on Russia.
Trump announced that Gina Haspel, the deputy director at the CIA will be nominated to run the spy agency. She would be the first woman to hold the position.
During the George W. Bush administration, Haspel (right) operated an interrogation “black site” in Thailand. Her rise in the ranks at the spy agency has caused a stir due to her involvement in the torture of detainees and destroying videotapes of the interrogations. Both face potentially bruising confirmation hearings. Sen. John McCain said Haspel “needs to explain the nature and extent of her involvement in the CIA’s interrogation program during the confirmation process.” More shakeups are on the horizon for the administration, which has already undergone a record amount of turnover. Sources told the AP Trump is considering firing Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin and replacing him with current Energy Secretary Rick Perry. National security adviser H.R. McMaster is expected to get the boot as well.