Andrew Harrer/ZUMA
President Donald Trump has fired Rex Tillerson as secretary of state and replaced him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo. The president confirmed the change on Twitter, minutes after the Washington Post first reported the news.
The Post reports that Trump asked Tillerson to step down on Friday. The announcement Tuesday comes one day after Tillerson said that Russia was “clearly” behind the nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy.
During a White House press briefing Monday, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused to specifically place blame on the Russian government for the assassination attempt. She instead said the White House gave its “fullest condemnation” for the attack.
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2018
This is a breaking news post. We will update as more information becomes available.
