UPDATE 3/13/2018 11:48 pm: in a move that the Post describes as "collateral damage"
Steve Goldstein, the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, ... was swiftly fired for contradicting the White House's version of events [of Tillerson's termination].There is something amusing, or fitting, or something, about a public relations officer being fired by the Trump Administration for truth-telling.
Will the last adult to leave the administration take his Twitter machine with him or her. Please.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't sound as if Tillerson will be missed very much. But I think anyone deserves better than to find out they are fired through Twitter. It's what happens when the bandar-log are in charge. I hope it doesn't become the new normal.
ReplyDeleteJennifer Rubin expands her theme here beyond the hapless Tillerson and reviews the boobs and buffoons that are in leadership roles throughout the Trump administration.
Deletehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2018/03/14/heres-the-case-trump-has-the-worst-cabinet-ever/
Who's next? Kelly is my bet, probably before June 1. We need the equivalent of an office pool. Given DeVos's performance on 60 Minutes, my guess is that she'll follow Kelly before the year is out.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it's too much to hope for that it might be Miller next. Of course DeVos is so incompetent I almost feel sorry for her. But she may have more staying power than we think, given that the only reason she's there in the first place is the money her family gave to the campaign. Plus her brother's shady connections to a military contractor.
DeleteI find this very troubling. Pompeo replaces Tillerson, and and Gina Haspel moves up to take her boss's place as CIA director.
ReplyDelete"Working as a clandestine officer in Thailand in 2002, Haspel reportedly was involved in the interrogations of two suspects, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, several news outlets reported last year. The methods used against the men included waterboarding Abu Zubaydah 83 times in one month, to the point where doctors once had to revive him, and ramming his head into walls. He lost sight in one eye."
“Ms. Haspel’s background makes her unsuitable to serve as CIA director,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said in a statement Tuesday"
Does this appointment require any sort of congressional approval? If it doesn't, it should.
Katherine - yes, Haspel's appointment will be subject to Senate confirmation. Personally, I don't expect that the GOP-led Senate will find waterboarding a disqualifier.
DeleteMollie Ziegler Hemingway, a conservative media critic who writes for the Federalist, has fun showing how representatives of various mainstream outlets suggest that Tillerson was fired for being too openly critical about Russia, and then recalling that, at the time of his nomination, Tillerson was panned for being too cozy with Russia.
ReplyDeletehttp://thefederalist.com/2018/03/13/media-cant-figure-out-if-tillerson-proves-or-disproves-russia-collusion/