Trump replaces Tillerson with CIA director

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US President Donald Trump has ousted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replaced him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

Trump made the announcement on his Twitter account.

Twitter Photo

The biggest shakeup of Trump’s Cabinet since he took office more than a year ago, which the president announced on Twitter, comes as the administration prepares for an unprecedented meeting with the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Trump spoke on Tuesday of his disagreements with the ousted secretary of state, including a division over the Iran nuclear deal, as he explained his decision to replace him with Mike Pompeo.

US President Donald Trump speaks with the media before boarding a Marine One helicopter to California via Joint Base Andrews from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, US, March 13, 2018. /VCG Photo

"We got along actually quite well but we disagreed on things," Trump told reporters. "When you look at the Iran deal, I thought it was terrible, he thought it was okay. I wanted to either break it or do something, he felt a little differently. So we were not really thinking the same."

Trump tapped the CIA’s deputy director, Gina Haspel, to replace Pompeo at the intelligence agency.

Discords between Trump and Tillerson

Trump and Tillerson, who had no diplomatic or political experience before becoming secretary of state, have diverged on policy numerous times, including over the Qatar rift, DPRK and Russia.

Tillerson was on the verge of resigning last year amid mounting policy disputes and clashes with the White House.

NBC reported in October last year that Tillerson openly disparaged the president, referring to him as a “moron” in July, after a meeting at the Pentagon with members of Trump’s national security team and Cabinet officials.

Both sides later denied the report, Tillerson insisted he enjoys a close relationship with the president, while Trump called it "fake news" and "totally made up."

US President Donald Trump speaks alongside Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (L) during a Cabinet Meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, October 16, 2017. /VCG Photo

In December last year, officials in Trump's administration and Tillerson sent out contradicting messages on the DPRK issue, with Tillerson claiming that the US could open talks with the DPRK without preconditions.

Tillerson also appeared out of the loop last week when Trump announced he would meet with the DPRK's leader and become the first sitting US president to do so.

Profiles:

Rex Tillerson

69th United States Secretary of State

Rex W. Tillerson was sworn in as the 69th US Secretary of State on February 1, 2017.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson takes a question from a journalist during a joint press conference with Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, March 8, 2018, at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa. /VCG Photo

A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Secretary Tillerson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering at the University of Texas at Austin before joining the Exxon Company, USA in 1975 as a production engineer.

He was the president of the corporation and a member of the board of directors in 2004, and served as ExxonMobil's chairman and chief executive officer from 2006 to 2016. He is a former member of the Boy Scouts of America’s Executive Committee and served as the National President of the Boy Scouts from 2010 to 2012.

Mike Pompeo

Director, Central Intelligence Agency

Mike Pompeo, born on December 30, 1963, in Orange, California, was sworn in as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency on January 23, 2017. As Director, he manages intelligence collection, analysis, covert action, counterintelligence, and liaison relationships with foreign intelligence services.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo testifies during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the threats the US is facing worldwide at the US Capitol in Washington, February 13, 2018. /VCG Photo

Before becoming Director, Mr. Pompeo was serving in his fourth term as congressman from Kansas’ 4th District. He served on the House Intelligence Committee as well as on the Energy and Commerce Committees. He also served as CEO for Thayer Aerospace for more than a decade.

Mr. Pompeo graduated first in his class at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1986 and served as a cavalry officer patrolling the Iron Curtain before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He also served with the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry in the US Army’s Fourth Infantry Division. After leaving active duty, Mr. Pompeo graduated from Harvard Law School, having been an editor of the Harvard Law Review.