The White House checkerboard saga continues today as two new reports have surfaced from ‘sources’ inside the administration.
The first reveals White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has called an emergency meeting with Rex Tillerson and Jim Mattis after rumors earlier this week of a ‘suicide pact’ surfaced.
The second and more consequential report comes from Axios and sources that argue Rex Tillerson will step down from his perch as Secretary of State after the dust-up over claims he nearly quit this summer.
What’s more, these reports say CIA Director Mike Pompeo will slide into the spot.
Whether there’s any truth to these reports remains to be seen. Regardless, it perpetuates the image of a White House in complete disarray.
Here’s more from Redstate…
With the relationship between President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson more strained an ever, naturally, talk of Tillerson resigning/being fired is ramping up.
What is always interesting about these stories, however, is the talk of who will replace these ousted ex-Trump employees. Currently, Axios is reporting on a potential shake-up and shuffle of key members of the Trump Administration:
Trump advisers and allies are floating the idea of replacing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, age 53 — someone who’s already around the table in the Situation Room, and could make the switch without chaos.
- We’re told that Trump is quite comfortable with Pompeo, asking his advice on topics from immigration to the inner workings of Congress.
- Pompeo personally delivers the President’s Daily Brief, making him one of the few people Trump spends a great deal of time with on a daily basis.
- Pompeo is one of the few in the administration who knows how to convey tough news to the president, and how to push back without turning DJT off. (SecDef Mattis is good at that, too.)
- Trump doesn’t see Pompeo as a showboat.
While I’m not sure how smart it is to move the CIA Director over to the State Department, at least we know what we’re getting with Pompeo. Tillerson, according to Axios’ same sources, just isn’t going to make it.
