President Trump announced Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's ouster via Twitter on Tuesday — and Tillerson himself reportedly had no idea the announcement was coming, nor the reason for his firing.
Tillerson had "every intention of staying," according to a statement from the State Department, which added that "the secretary did not speak to the president and is unaware of the reason" for his firing.
This contradicts what the White House had first told The Washington Post — that Trump asked Tillerson to resign on Friday.
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A senior White House official told ABC that Trump's decision was not based on any single issue with Tillerson, but comes about because Trump believes he works well with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who Trump has picked to take over as secretary of state. Tillerson and Trump have long reportedly been at odds, with Tillerson having famously referred to the president as a "moron" after a meeting last summer.
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