President Trump has sacked Rex Tillerson after only one year at his post, replacing him with CIA director, Mike Pompeo. Trump made the announcement, early this morning, via his official Twitter account, tweeting that Tillerson would be replaced by former deputy CIA director Gina Haspel.

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! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2018

When asked for a statement outside the White House on Tuesday morning, Trump told reporters: “We got along actually quite well, but we disagreed on things," saying that it came down to “personal chemistry.”

The reason behind Tillerson sacking

It is unclear why Tillerson was sacked, even more so to Tillerson himself, who had not yet spoken to the president.

He found out he was sacked on Twitter and was reportedly unaware of the reason behind the ejection.

The president gave a different report in front of The White House, saying, "Rex and I have been talking about this for a long time. We got along actually quite well but we disagreed on things, for example when you look at the Iran deal."

Mr. Tillerson and President Trump have disagreed on many matters of state, with the most recent being how to respond to Russia over the attempted assassination of ex-double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. Other disagreements included the Iran deal, and the president’s decision to not involve Tillerson in his decision to hold talks with North Korea.

Choosing Mike Pompeo

Trump chose hardline Republican congressman and former Tea Party representative from Kansas, Mike Pompeo, to direct the CIA before he chose him as his new Secretary of State.

A Trump-loyalist, Pompeo has, in the past, been reported to play down CIA findings pointing towards the Russian attempts to influence last year's election, and later denouncing Moscow’s alleged meddling following Putin’s denials.

During Obama’s presidency, he was against the administration’s nuclear deal with Iran but opposed the shutting down of the Guantanamo Bay detention center. He declared: "These men and women are not torturers, they are patriots," commenting on the CIA tactics to be "within the law, within the constitution".

Mike Pompeo’s history on matters of state and national security have been contradictory at best, and following his stances is a job best left to those who can fully understand it.

President Trump seems to be one of those people, announcing on Twitter shortly after appointing him that: “He will do a fantastic job.”

Despite President Trump's support, Pompeo is expected to face questions regarding the justice department investigation of alleged Russian meddling in the US election, and whether the Trump team attempted to obstruct justice.

Public reactions

Although the differences between Mr. Tillerson and President Trump were no secret, the news took everyone by surprise, sparking an uproar on social media.

Secretary Steve Goldstein commented: "The Secretary had every intention of staying, because of the critical progress made in national security."

Moreover, top Democrats in the House of Representatives and the US Senate have taken to Trump’s favorite platform, Twitter, to air their frustrations.

Trump’s diplomacy: contradictions, undercutting, clumsy, confusing, colossal cuts, chaos and inconsistencies. My prediction: it will continue. https://t.co/yj4QZGGetv — Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) March 13, 2018

The instability of this administration in just about every area weakens America.



If he’s confirmed, we hope that Mr. Pompeo will turn over a new leaf and will start toughening up our policies towards Russia and Putin. — Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 13, 2018

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi went the extra mile by issuing a statement on her official website, in which she denounced the act.

“Secretary Tillerson’s firing sets a profoundly disturbing precedent in which standing up for our allies against Russian aggression is grounds for a humiliating dismissal. President Trump’s actions show that every official in his Administration is at the mercy of his personal whims and his worship of Putin.” She added: “It is no wonder that the President has trouble attracting high-caliber people to his Administration when he undercuts and humiliates those he supposedly respects.”

Whenever Secretary Tillerson’s successor goes into meetings with foreign leaders, his credibility will be diminished as someone who could be here today and gone tomorrow. https://t.co/DdyLCbpUiG — Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) March 13, 2018

The suicide pact

In 2017, three of President Donald Trump’s top cabinet secretaries reportedly formed a suicide pact.

According to the Dailymail, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin vowed, to quit en masse, if Trump ousted one of them.

Now the question remains, are we about to witness a mass exodus following Tillerson’s sacking?

It is hard to say what comes next, especially that just two days ago, Trump sent a warning to Oprah against the potential of her running for the presidency.