2018年CRI Trump Sacks Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

 

In a major change to his cabinet, US President Trump¹ has fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and nominated CIA Chief Mike Pompeo to replace Tillerson as his top diplomat².

While the announcement of the decision may be sudden, it did not come as a complete surprise.

US President Trump announced his decision early in the morning by tweeting that he will replace Secretary Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

And at the CIA, deputy director Gina Haspel will take Pompeo's place, becoming the first woman to head the agency.

Trump then took questions from the press at the White House before flying to California to inspect prototypes of the border wall with Mexico.

He said he and Tillerson have had different opinions for quite a long time.

"Rex and I have been talking about this for a long time. We got along, actually, quite well but we disagreed on things. When you look at the Iran deal; I think it's terrible, I guess he thought it was OK. I wanted to either break it or do something and he felt a little bit differently."

He thanked Tillerson for his service and expressed his confidence in the nomination³ of Pompeo.

"I've worked with Mike Pompeo now for quite some time. Tremendous energy, tremendous intellect, we're always on the same wavelength⁴. The relationship has been very good and that's what I need as secretary of state. I wish Rex Tillerson well."

Commenting on the timing⁵ of the decision, a senior White House official said that the President wanted to make sure to have his new team in place in advance of the upcoming talks with North Korea and various ongoing⁶ trade negotiations⁷.

Speaking out for the first time after getting fired, in an afternoon press briefing at the State Department, Tillerson said he received a phone call from Trump a little after noontime to talk about the decision.

US media have pointed⁸ out that Tillerson only mentioned Trump once in the speech and he did not thank Trump.

Tillerson thanked his staff at the State Department, however, and encouraged them to stay on.

I'm encouraging my policy planning team and under secretaries and assistant secretaries – those confirmed as well as those in acting⁹ positions – to remain at their post and continue our mission at the State Department in working with the interagency process. "

He said he is delegating all his responsibilities at the end of Tuesday and his tenure¹⁰ will officially end on March 31.

Tillerson, who was then in Ethiopia, had cut his Africa trip short to come back to Washington.

65-year-old Tillerson served as the CEO of ExxonMobil and was considered an unconventional choice for Secretary of State when he was first nominated.

His exit now marks another on the long list of high-ranking officials who have either resigned or been fired 14 months into Trump's administration.

Hours after the exit of Tillerson, Under-secretary of State Steve Goldstein was fired, too.

The new US top diplomat Pompeo was once a Republican lawmaker from Kansas and is said to have developed a warm relationship with Trump.

And now, nominations¹¹ of both the new secretary of state and CIA director await the confirmation¹² of the US Senate.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

3 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

4 wavelength   

n.波长

参考例句：

• The authorities were unable to jam this wavelength.当局无法干扰这一波长。
• Radio One has broadcast on this wavelength for years.广播1台已经用这个波长广播多年了。

5 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

11 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

12 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。