Donald Trump administration suffers yet another controversial resignation
The Donald Trump administration has seen an unprecedented number of resignations, firings, and controversial departures in its first year. Trump’s insistence on hiring corrupt crooks and sycophants instead of competent people, combined with Trump’s mentally unstable nature, has resulted in nonstop chaotic turnover. People have resigned because they’ve been caught committing crimes. They’ve resigned due to public outcry. They’ve resigned due to internal feuding. Now Trump is suffering a controversial resignation due to someone being righteously ticked off.
There has been widespread speculation over the past month about whether Trump’s Secretary of State Rex Tillerson might resign. Trump has been targeting him, publicly and privately, since it was revealed that Tillerson had called him a moron. One of Tillerson’s key handpicked people resigned without explanation last month, further weakening Tillerson. However, Tillerson not the one who resigned – at least not this time around. Instead, an influential State Department officer is resigning, and she’s using her own resignation as an opportunity to call for Tillerson’s job.
Elizabeth Shackleford has posted her resignation letter, which rips into Donald Trump and Rex Tillerson for their systematic dismantling of the State Department, according to Foreign Policy (link). In it she states “I have deep respect for the career Foreign and Civil Service staff who, despite the stinging disrespect this Administration has shown our profession, continue the struggle to keep our foreign policy on the positive trajectory necessary to avert global disaster in increasingly dangerous times.”
Donald Trump has already publicly floated the idea of forcing Rex Tillerson to resign, promoting current CIA Director Mike Pompeo to Secretary of State, and appointing current Senator Tom Cotton as CIA Director. It’s still not clear if Trump actually plans to do this or if he’s merely running his mouth. However, the more weakened Tillerson becomes by the ongoing series of prominent departures, the more likely his ouster becomes.
