• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Trump may look to replace Tillerson with CIA director Pompeo after 'moron' report

S

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
https://www.axios.com/cia-director-pompeo-considered-to-replace-tillerson-2493643532.html

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.
Pompeo would take the job, as the cap to a career that included being a U.S. House member from Kansas.
Pompeo would have credibility with world leaders, who'd know he was a legit part of the president's inner circle — something no one thinks about Tillerson.

Sources tell us Trump recognizes that a Cabinet shuffle would bring bad press. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly wants stability, and so is discouraging high-level departures before next year.

And yet, insiders say Trump's relationship with Tillerson is broken beyond repair. We're told Trump was furious that Tillerson didn't try to blunt the story about him calling the president a "moron," by just going out and denying it (whether or not it actually occurred).
Click to expand...
 
legacyzero

legacyzero

Banned
giphy.gif
 
B

BrassDragon

Member
Trump will want to keep a lickspittle at the head of the CIA as Mueller goes deeper on the mechanics of the Russian active measures, which can only be done through foreign intelligence collection and exchange.

Pompeo has reliably carried his water on topics such as enhanced interrogation, the Iran deal, expanded surveillance and most importantly: the impact of Russian efforts the undermine the 2016 election. There is also a lot of smoke around Pompeo's role in letting Michael Flynn hold a clearance and leadership position after the CIA had both internal and external warnings about him being compromised.

From Trump's perspective, it would be risky to replace him this late in the game.
 
F

FullMetaltech

Member
BrassDragon said:
Trump will want to keep a lickspittle at the head of the CIA as Mueller goes deeper on the mechanics of the Russian active measures, which can only be done through foreign intelligence collection and exchange.

Pompeo has reliably carried his water on topics such as enhanced interrogation, the Iran deal, expanded surveillance and most importantly: the impact of Russian efforts the undermine the 2016 election. There is also a lot of smoke around Pompeo's role in letting General Flynn hold a clearance and leadership position after the CIA had both internal and external warnings about him being compromised.

From Trump's perspective, it would be risky to replace him this late in the game.
Click to expand...
Its Trump were talking about here. He doesnt care about risks at this point. He seems to care more about his image and obssessed with anything Obama put in place. You do have a point though that it would be a pr mess.
 
RPGCrazied

RPGCrazied

Member
I told you. You can't talk bad about Trump. His ego is that fragile.

And holy shit at the amount of people leaving this administration.
 
C

CHC

Member
"The Moron Report" would be a pretty good name for the miniseries that will be made when this whole debacle is over.
 
C

cameron

Member
And yet, insiders say Trump's relationship with Tillerson is broken beyond repair. We're told Trump was furious that Tillerson didn't try to blunt the story about him calling the president a "moron," by just going out and denying it (whether or not it actually occurred).


  • After what Trump considered a strong trip to Vegas, he seethed when he got back and saw Tillerson's gaffe dominating cable-news coverage. Everywhere he flipped, there was Tillerson's face instead of his.
  • The relationship is so toxic, sources tell Jonathan Swan and me, that few in the White House think it can be rebuilt. There's zero trust between the West Wing and the State Department.
  • NBC, which broke the "moron" story, said the chief of staff "abruptly scrapped plans to travel with ... Trump on Wednesday so he could try to contain his boss's fury."
Click to expand...
Pathetic, as always.
 
D

dramatis

Member
Trump hasn't even replaced the Homeland Security spot (vacated by Kelly who became Chief of Staff). Who the heck would be CIA director?

Will Trump manage to get all the Republican members out of Congress at the end of his term not because of losing elections but because he goes through them like toilet paper for his administration?
 
B

BrassDragon

Member
FullMetaltech said:
Its Trump were talking about here. He doesnt care about risks at this point. He seems to care more about his image and obssessed with anything Obama put in place. You do have a point though that it would be a pr mess.
Click to expand...

Fair point... for a minute there I was ascribing rational long-term thinking to the man. Don't know what came over me.
 
T

Takamura-San

Member
BronsonLee said:
Oh hell, that's not good at all



Not to fire him but to vet his replacement, yeah
Click to expand...

So if I'm not mistaken, he can fire tillerson. But having pompeo go to SoS would require Congress, and replacing Pompeo for CIA too?

If that is the case... How would Congress react to this?
 
B

Beartruck

Member
Takamura-San said:
So if I'm not mistaken, he can fire tillerson. But having pompeo go to SoS would require Congress, and replacing Pompeo for CIA too?

If that is the case... How would Congress react to this?
Click to expand...

The way they have the last 9 months: Opening a bottle of scotch and pouring.
 
B

BrassDragon

Member
Takamura-San said:
So if I'm not mistaken, he can fire tillerson. But having pompeo go to SoS would require Congress, and replacing Pompeo for CIA too?

If that is the case... How would Congress react to this?
Click to expand...

They'll hold their noses and confirm because it's a matter of 'national security' to keep these posts filled.
 
B

BronsonLee

Member
Takamura-San said:
So if I'm not mistaken, he can fire tillerson. But having pompeo go to SoS would require Congress, and replacing Pompeo for CIA too?

If that is the case... How would Congress react to this?
Click to expand...

Beartruck said:
The way they have the last 9 months: Opening a bottle of scotch and pouring.
Click to expand...

BrassDragon said:
They'll hold their noses and confirm because it's a matter of 'national security' to keep these posts filled.
Click to expand...

One thing I've noticed is if someone's going to run into severe blowback/likely not get Congress confirmation (this has happened for smaller posts), the person just removes their name from consideration so Congress doesn't hold the L like Turtle did when McCain Batista Bomb'd him
 
S

Stop It

Perfectly able to grasp the inherent value of the fishing game.
Nerdkiller said:
Remember, if Tillerson goes, Expect Mnuchin and Mattis to call it quits themselves.
Click to expand...

I read a Bloomberg article semi debunking this, unless if there is a 2nd pact involving Mattis, causing 5 people in total to leave if Tillerson goes.

Either way, he's gone before the end of the year. The report I saw said about Nikki Haley, as again it wouldn't be an external hire to cause more disruption but either would make sense.

Expect Trump to not make sense and try to employ someone completely inappropriate.
 
S

Snwaters

Member
Considering what day it is, I guess the story that Tillerson 'resigned' will break around... 3 PM est, I assume?
 
S

Saint Gregory

Member
It's getting kind of weird how they never seem to be bringing in any new blood to this administration, all they seem to do is move the pieces around on the chess checker board.
 
E

Electric Eye

Banned
Stop It said:
I read a Bloomberg article semi debunking this, unless if there is a 2nd pact involving Mattis, causing 5 people in total to leave if Tillerson goes.

Either way, he's gone before the end of the year. The report I saw said about Nikki Haley, as again it wouldn't be an external hire to cause more disruption but either would make sense.

Expect Trump to not make sense and try to employ someone completely inappropriate.
Click to expand...

He would usually hire some ass kisser like sheriff Clarke except his choices have to g through Kelly now and he's been blocking the crazies.
 
RPGCrazied

RPGCrazied

Member
Keep in mind the Homeland Security spot is still vacant when Kelly left that post. Lets say they do this, then we won't have a CIA director?

Trump has put this country at risk on so many fronts its pretty scary.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Rex Tillserson Debates Quitting After "Unprofessional" Trump bashes Jeff Sessions
2 3
116
18K
TheLaughingStock replied
McMaster increases tension on N. Korea & Iran; Pompeo vows a 'more vicious' CIA
43
6K
NullPointer replied
  • Locked
CNN: Trump asks Rep. Mike Pompeo to be CIA director, sources say
2
52
8K
Formless replied
  • Locked
Politco: Mattis, Pompeo stunned by CIA 'black sites' report
2
59
13K
SwiftDeath replied
  • Locked
President Donald Trump says he believes waterboarding works
37
4K
ModBot replied
Top Bottom