President Trump on Tuesday ousted Rex Tillerson as secretary of state and said he is replacing him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
“Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State,” the president tweeted. “He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service!”
In a statement released by the White House, Pompeo said: “I am deeply grateful to President Trump for permitting me to serve as director of the Central Intelligence Agency and for this opportunity to serve as
secretary of state. His leadership has made America safer and I look forward to representing him and the American people to the rest of the world to further America’s prosperity.”
Trump said he is naming Gina Haspel the new director of the CIA. Haspel
has served as Pompeo’s deputy and will become the first woman to serve as director.
“I am grateful to President Trump for the opportunity, and humbled by his confidence in me, to be nominated to be the next Director of the Central Intelligence Agency,” Haspel said in a statement.
Recall that Rex Tillerson abruptly cut off his recent visit while in Nigeria to return back home
