Donald Trump, US President has fired the Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, after a little over a year in office, and few days after his visit to Africa.
The former ExxonMobil CEO, whose nomination was initially greeted warmly by prominent foreign policy hands , will leave without any major accomplishments.
This is largely because he failed to wield any significant influence in internal administration debates over issues like North Korea or Russia, in fact actively alienating the president during several key policy debates.
His push to slash “inefficiencies” in the State Department and seeming disinterest in working closely with longtime staff were even more damaging.
President Trump removed him Tuesday and nominated CIA Director Mike Pompeo to head the State Department.
Trump told reporters he made the decision himself, citing disagreements with Tillerson that included North Korea diplomacy, steel and aluminum tariffs, and the Iran nuclear agreement.
Trump said, " I think Rex will be much happier now."
The US President however praised his new nominee's "tremendous energy, tremendous intellect. We’re always on the same wave length. The relationship has been very good and that’s what I need as Secretary of State."
Trump said in a written statement that, at the State Department, Pompeo "will continue our program of restoring America’s standing in the world, strengthening our alliances, confronting our adversaries, and seeking the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
It was gathered that under Tillerson’s watch, 60 percent of State’s top-ranking career diplomats resigned and new applications to join the foreign service fell by half, according to a November count by the American Foreign Service Association.
This hollowing out of the foreign service, combined with Tillerson’s inability to appoint people to vital positions like Ambassador to South Korea, delayed American responses to major crises and weakened the State Department for a “generation,” according to George Washington University’s Elizabeth Saunders.
According to The New York Times , which published a report on the firings, resignations and the impact they're having, Tillerson decided to implement a 31 percent budget cut prior to taking over as secretary.
This set the tone for a different sort of stewardship over the state department than seen in preceding administrations, with longtime, senior department employees being shown the door, or encouraged to resign by being offered cash buyouts.
The report also noted that Tillerson has implemented a hiring freeze, and is hoping to cut the State Department's staff by 2,000 by Oct. 2018, a sharp planned reduction planned with a deadline set for less than a year away.
The efforts have reportedly been particularly damaging to the department's minority diplomats, with "most" of its top black and Latino employees being shown the door, many of them also women
- His sack is historically the shortest tenures in modern history.
The former ExxonMobil CEO, whose nomination was initially greeted warmly by prominent foreign policy hands , will leave without any major accomplishments.
This is largely because he failed to wield any significant influence in internal administration debates over issues like North Korea or Russia, in fact actively alienating the president during several key policy debates.
His push to slash “inefficiencies” in the State Department and seeming disinterest in working closely with longtime staff were even more damaging.
President Trump removed him Tuesday and nominated CIA Director Mike Pompeo to head the State Department.
Trump told reporters he made the decision himself, citing disagreements with Tillerson that included North Korea diplomacy, steel and aluminum tariffs, and the Iran nuclear agreement.
Trump said, " I think Rex will be much happier now."
The US President however praised his new nominee's "tremendous energy, tremendous intellect. We’re always on the same wave length. The relationship has been very good and that’s what I need as Secretary of State."
Trump said in a written statement that, at the State Department, Pompeo "will continue our program of restoring America’s standing in the world, strengthening our alliances, confronting our adversaries, and seeking the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
It was gathered that under Tillerson’s watch, 60 percent of State’s top-ranking career diplomats resigned and new applications to join the foreign service fell by half, according to a November count by the American Foreign Service Association.
Khary Penebaker in a tweet alleged that Tillerson has frozen most hiring and recently offered a $25k buyout in hopes of pushing nearly 2,000 career diplomats and civil servants to leave by Oct 2018. Among those fired or sidelined were most of the top Black and Latino diplomats, as well as many women
This hollowing out of the foreign service, combined with Tillerson’s inability to appoint people to vital positions like Ambassador to South Korea, delayed American responses to major crises and weakened the State Department for a “generation,” according to George Washington University’s Elizabeth Saunders.
According to The New York Times , which published a report on the firings, resignations and the impact they're having, Tillerson decided to implement a 31 percent budget cut prior to taking over as secretary.
This set the tone for a different sort of stewardship over the state department than seen in preceding administrations, with longtime, senior department employees being shown the door, or encouraged to resign by being offered cash buyouts.
The report also noted that Tillerson has implemented a hiring freeze, and is hoping to cut the State Department's staff by 2,000 by Oct. 2018, a sharp planned reduction planned with a deadline set for less than a year away.
The efforts have reportedly been particularly damaging to the department's minority diplomats, with "most" of its top black and Latino employees being shown the door, many of them also women
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