Rex Tillerson FIRED: US Secretary of State replaced by CIA boss Pompeo, Trump tweets
REX Tillerson has been replaced as the US Secretary of State, President Donald Trump has confirmed on Twitter in an unprecedented White House shakeup.
President Trump replaces Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State
The US President tweeted: "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!"
It remains unclear what prompted the ousting of Mr Tillerson, who was one of the most senior members of the Trump administration and had served the President since he was inaugurated last January.
A senior White House official told Reuters that Tillerson's departure was a result of the President's plans to install a new team ahead of planned talks with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un later this year.
Speaking shortly after the announcement, President Trump told reporters: "I very much appreciate his commitment and his service and I wish him well."He admitted they "disagreed on things" and said he shares a more similar way of thinking with Tillerson's successor, Mr Pompeo.Rex Tillerson fired: Donald Trump broke the news on Twitter
Last week Gary Cohn, Trump's top economic adviser, announced plans to resign - shortly before the President signed off on the highly controversial trade tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Others include strategist Steve Bannon, national security adviser Michael Flynn, FBI Director James Comey, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, health secretary Tom Price, communications directors Hope Hicks and Anthony Scaramucci and press secretary Sean Spicer.
The US Secretary of State was on an official visit to Africa last week when he was reportedly left astonished at the news Trump had agreed to talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
President Trump is said to have asked for his resignation on Friday, cutting the trip short.
The 65-year-old and the President had a series of high-profile disputes - most notably when the former Secretary of State reportedly called Trump a "f***ing moron" after the President called for a tenfold expansion of the US nuclear arsenal.
Donald Trump thanked Rex Tillerson for his service
President Trump: Rex Tillerson didn’t think the same as me
It is highly unusual for a Secretary of State to leave their post so abruptly and already rumours are growing about the possible reasons behind Mr Tillerson's departure.
Last autumn, Mr Trump publicly undercut his Secretary of State, tweeting that he was "wasting his time" trying to negotiate with North Korea.
Mr Tillerson was reportedly astonished at how little Mr Trump grasped the basics of foreign policy.
The President, meanwhile, reportedly grew frustrated by Mr Tillerson's body language when the pair disagreed - Mr Tillerson was said to roll his eyes or slouch when he disagreed with the decisions of his boss.