--- title: Donald Trump Fires Secretary of State Rex Tillerson description: CIA Director Mike Pompeo will replace Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, President Trump announced on Tuesday. canonical: https://time.com/5197201/president-trump-removes-secretary-of-state-rex-tillerson/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-13T12:53:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T21:17:03.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Fires Secretary of State Rex Tillerson og:description: Tillerson has made it clear that he did not leave voluntarily og:url: https://time.com/5197201/president-trump-removes-secretary-of-state-rex-tillerson/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57b6cb468391cf2c/69892aa3fb4eac1e11896008/rex-tillerson-secretary-of-state-ousted.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3101 og:image:height: 1744 og:image:alt: Rex Tillerson meets with Ethiopian officials og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Fires Secretary of State Rex Tillerson twitter:description: Tillerson has made it clear that he did not leave voluntarily twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57b6cb468391cf2c/69892aa3fb4eac1e11896008/rex-tillerson-secretary-of-state-ousted.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Fires Secretary of State Rex Tillerson > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=afe7cd2b-1dcb-42ab-adb5-a8c44a35d35c&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Removes Secretary of State Rex Tillerson [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Removes Secretary of State Rex Tillerson](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/tHPpzLKD.m3u8) (1:27)  _Published 2018-03-13. President Donald Trump has fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and will replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo_  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:17 PM UTCPublished: Mar 13, 2018 12:53 PM UTC President Donald Trump has fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and will replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:17 PM UTCPublished: Mar 13, 2018 12:53 PM UTC President Donald Trump has fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and will replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Pompeo will be replaced at the CIA by Gina Haspel, who will be the first woman to lead the agency. “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!” Trump wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning. But a statement from a State Department official, Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy Steve Goldstein, added new context to Trump’s announcement when he said less than an hour after Trump’s tweet that Tillerson was unaware of these personnel changes, and “had every intention of remaining because of the tangible progress made on critical national security issues.” “The Secretary did not speak to the President this morning and is unaware of the reason, but he is grateful for the opportunity to serve, and still believes strongly that public service is a noble calling and not to be regretted,” said Goldstein. “We wish Secretary-Designate Pompeo well.” As of Tuesday afternoon, the State Department had announced Goldstein would[ no longer serve](http://time.com/5197820/white-house-rex-tillerson-goldstein/) in his position. Speaking at the White House briefing room Tuesday afternoon, Tillerson said Trump had called him around noon to discuss the changes. But Trump tweeted the news at 8:44 A.M. Eastern Time. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/973540316656623616) A Senior White House official said that Trump wanted to have a new team in place before he began negotiations with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un. He also wanted the new team for various trade negotiations.Tillerson said Tuesday in the White House briefing room that he will immediately begin designating his duties to Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan, and his last official day will be March 31\. [The Washington _Post_ ](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-ousts-tillerson-will-replace-him-as-secretary-of-state-with-cia-chief-pompeo/2018/03/13/30f34eea-26ba-11e8-b79d-f3d931db7f68%5Fstory.html)first reported the news, and said that Trump had asked Tillerson to resign last Friday. Pompeo, a graduate of West Point and Harvard Law School, served in the House of Representatives for over 5 years before Trump nominated him to head the CIA. In an official statement released by the White House, Trump praised Pompeo’s work with the CIA and expressed confidence in his ability take the reins at Foggy Bottom and push forward his policy priorities. “I have gotten to know Mike very well over the past 14 months, and I am confident he is the right person for the job at this critical juncture. He 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.” Trump concluded that statement by thanking Tillerson for his service “ A great deal has been accomplished over the last fourteen months, and I wish him and his family well.” Speaking with reporters later Tuesday morning, he said he thinks Tillerson will be “happier” once he is no longer in the position. “I think Rex will be much happier now But I really appreciate his service. But with Mike we’ve had a very good chemistry right from the beginning,” said Trump. TIllerson, who was previously CEO of Exxon Mobil, is President Trump’s first Secretary of State. Although he has outlasted multiple other key members of Trump’s administration, his tenure is historically short compared with his immediate predecessors. The last three first-term secretaries of State — Warren Christopher under Bill Clinton, Colin Powell under George W. Bush and and Hillary Clinton under Barack Obama — all stayed in their positions for the entire first term. Since 1949, only Alexander Haig, who served under President Ronald Reagan for nearly 18 months, has [lasted less than three years](https://www.state.gov/secretary/former/) in the position. And Tillerson’s tenure has also been accompanied by a series of disputes and reports of internal fighting with the President. At one point, Tillerson found himself defending a report that he had called Trump a “moron,” but stopped short of an official denial. “I actually got on well with Rex,” Trump said Tuesday, “but it was a different mindset.” ## Transcript [00:00] As far as Rex Tillerson is concerned, I very much [00:04] appreciate his commitment and his service, and I wish [00:07] him well. He's a good [00:12] man. [ MUSIC ] President [00:16] Trump is removing [00:21] Secretary of State [00:26] Rex Tillerson [ MUSIC ] [00:31] I've worked with Mike Pompeo now for quite [00:35] some time. Tremendous energy, tremendous [00:39] intellect. We're always on the same wavelength. The [00:44] relationship has been very good and that's what I need [00:47] as secretary of state. 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