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Friday 1 december 2017
White House weighs plan to replace Tillerson with Pompeo

By JOSH LEDERMAN ply brushed off the report.
JILL COLVIN “There’s nothing to it,” he
Associated Press said when asked.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Af- But White House spokes-
ter months of clashes on woman Sarah Huckabee
policy and personality, Sanders didn’t deny it. She
President Donald Trump is did suggest that no move
considering ousting Secre- was imminent, saying the
tary of State Rex Tillerson president and Tillerson
and replacing him with planned to “work together
hard-nosed CIA Director to close out what we’ve
Mike Pompeo following seen to be an incredible
less than a year on the year.”
job, senior U.S. officials said Does the president still
Thursday as turmoil within have confidence in Tiller-
Trump’s national security son?
team burst into the open. “When the president loses
The White House plan, confidence in someone,
which Trump has not yet they will no longer serve in
signed off on, would force the capacity that they’re
a major realignment early in,” she said.
in his term, also creating a Friction between the presi-
vacancy atop the CIA that dent and the nation’s top
officials said could be filled CIA Director Mike Pompeo listens while testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington. The White House diplomat has grown in-
is discussing a plan to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with Pompeo, according to two
by Republican Sen. Tom administration officials. creasingly public through
Cotton of Arkansas. The (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) the year.
overhaul could produce a ica’s face on the global haps one reason he has yet job, Trump was coy, merely After a report last month
significant shift in both the stage, to be fired or to to pull the trigger. pointing out that Tillerson that Tillerson had called
tone and direction of the serve for a year or less. Nor Tillerson’s likely ouster was in fact in the building. the president a “moron,”
president’s foreign policy, is it common for presidents loomed awkwardly over “He’s here. Rex is here,” the Tillerson was forced to ap-
removing it from the un- to have such a significant an Oval Office meeting president said. pear before cameras at
derstated former oil man Cabinet revamp so soon Thursday between Trump Timing for any move was the State Department to
whose style has never fit after taking office. Too and the visiting Bahraini uncertain. pledge fealty his boss.
well with Trump’s. much churn could fuel the crown prince. Asked by a Defense Secretary Jim Mat- Soon after, Trump publicly
It is exceedingly rare for a perception of chaos in the reporter whether he want- tis, Tillerson’s closest ally challenged his secretary to
secretary of state, Amer- Trump White House — per- ed Tillerson to stay on the in the administration, sim- an IQ match.q
Trump tweets strain US-Britain ‘special relationship’

By JILL LAWLESS that “we take the need to criticized Trump in unusual-
Associated Press deal with the terrorist threat ly blunt language. Labour’s
LONDON (AP) — A few very seriously” and rebuked Naz Shah accused him of
days after his inaugura- the leader of Britain’s clos- promoting “the hate-filled
tion, U.S. President Donald est ally. ideology of fascism.” Con-
Trump stood beside British “The fact that we work to- servative Tim Loughton said
Prime Minister Theresa May gether does not mean that Twitter should take down
in the White House and we are afraid to say when Trump’s account for ped-
proclaimed the strength of we think that the United dling “hate crime.”
the “most special relation- States have got it wrong The chill between London
ship” between their two and to be very clear with and Washington could not
countries. them,” May said Thursday come at a worse time, as
Ten months later, that re- during a visit to Amman, Britain prepares to leave
lationship looks decidedly Jordan. “I am very clear the European Union and
strained. As May and Trump that retweeting from Britain forge new economic rela-
traded criticism Thursday First was the wrong thing to tionships around the world.
over his retweets of a far- In this May 25, 2017, photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, right, do.” May was the first world
right group’s anti-Muslim speaks to British Prime Minister Theresa May during in a working London Mayor Sadiq Khan leader to meet with Trump
videos, British lawmakers dinner meeting at the NATO headquarters during a NATO sum- was one of many politicians after he took office in Janu-
mit of heads of state and government in Brussels. Trump initially
labeled the U.S. leader a responded to May’s criticism of his retweeting of inflammatory urging the government to ary partly because Britain is
hate peddler. They also anti-Muslim videos from a fringe British political group by direct- scrap the still-unscheduled eager to strike a free trade
urged May’s government ing his message to the wrong Theresa May on Twitter Nov. 29, state visit by Trump that deal with the U.S. after it
to revoke an invitation for 2017. first was announced during leaves the EU in 2019.
Trump to visit Britain as a (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool) May’s trip to Washington in But the prime minister’s bid
guest of Queen Elizabeth II. purporting to show Muslims was wrong to retweet the January. to nurture a close relation-
The furor erupted after engaged in acts of vio- group’s content. Khan, the British capital’s ship with the unpredictable
Trump, who has almost 44 lence, but without provid- Trump responded with a first Muslim mayor, said the president has not gone ac-
million Twitter followers, on ing context or supporting tweet urging May to focus American president had cording to plan.
Wednesday retweeted information. on “the destructive Radical promoted “a vile, extremist Trump greeted May with
three anti-Muslim videos The U.K. ambassador in Islamic Terrorism that is tak- group” and an official visit warm words, and even
posted by a leader of the Washington, Kim Darroch, ing place within the United by him “would not be wel- briefly held her hand as the
far-right group Britain First. complained to the White Kingdom” instead of on comed.” two leaders walked along
The tiny group regularly House, and May’s spokes- him. In the House of Commons a colonnade at the White
posts inflammatory videos man said the president May countered Thursday on Thursday, lawmakers House. q