Donald Trump’s frustrated Secretary of State Rex Tillerson considering “imminent” resignation
Major and minor players have been exiting the Donald Trump administration with alarming and escalating frequency over the past month, even as Trump hasn’t bothered to fill many of the positions being vacated. But he may be about to face one vacancy that he’d more or less have to fill: Secretary of State. Reports this evening are that Rex Tillerson is so frustrated with Trump, he’s considering “imminent” resignation.
That report comes from the Washington Post, in an article whose primary focus is on the rising tensions between Donald Trump and his new White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly. Buried all the way down in the twenty-sixth paragraph of that article is the real story: Tillerson is considering resigning (link). Moreover, at least one source says that Tillerson may be on his way out the door as we speak.
One source tells the WaPo that Rex Tillerson will likely be gone by the end of the year, while another describes his resignation as “imminent” and yet another says that he “seems to be ready to end his State Department tenure.” So take those timeframes for what they’re worth. But the upshot is all the same: Tillerson is tired of Trump’s antics and finds them embarrassing. There may also be another reason why Tillerson is ready to head for the exits.
Rex Tillerson has no previous experience in politics, and he was the CEO of Exxon-Mobil at the time Donald Trump asked him to become Secretary of State. Tillerson has a long and close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and it’s widely believed that Putin told Trump to pick Tillerson so that the two could conduct oil business once U.S. sanctions were eased on Russia. However, it’s now become clear that Congress will never allow Trump to lift those sanctions, meaning that Tillerson’s only reason for taking the job has now evaporated.
