WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reportedly learned that he was being fired when the rest of the country did: the morning of March 13, when the president posted the information to his Twitter account.
“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!” the president wrote shortly before 9 am that morning.
Tillerson’s firing comes just hours after he publicly contradicted the White House about a nerve agent attack against a former Russian spy living in the United Kingdom. On the morning of March 12, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused to say whether Russia was behind the attack.
That evening, however, Tillerson told reporters, “We have full confidence in the UK’s investigation and its assessment that Russia was likely responsible for the nerve agent attack that took place in Salisbury last week.” Hours later, he was fired.
The possibility that Tillerson’s firing was motivated by a dispute over Russia is surprising, considering that Tillerson had a reputation for coziness with the Kremline prior to his confirmation as Secretary of State. He was even awarded the Russian Order of Friendship by Vladimir Putin in 2013.