The two clashed especially heavily over North Korea, with Trump putting military action on the table and Tillerson aiming for a diplomatic solution.

It was this deal that earned Mr Tillerson the Russian Order of Friendship, which President Vladimir Putin personally pinned on his chest in 2013 (that was before Russia grabbed Crimea but after the US-Russian relationship went cold).

Barely 24 hours after his visit to Nigeria, Rex Tillerson was sacked as the 69th United States Secretary of State.Tillerson was in Nigeria and Chad on the last leg of his maiden trip to Africa.

"Foreign diplomats - starting with the British and the French - said Mr. Tillerson neither returned phone calls or, with much advance warning, set up meetings with his counterparts".

He did not mention anything about Trump.

In an illustration of the gulf that has long separated Tillerson and Trump, the White House and the State Department vigorously disagreed about whether Tillerson had even been informed of his firing in advance.

Hours after his boss, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, was ousted Steve Goldstein, the under secretary of public affairs at the State Department has been fired by the White House.

Politico reported in February that a fuming Tillerson said there can not be "four secretaries of state", referencing what he saw as intrusion by Kushner, UN ambassador Nikki Haley and national security adviser H.R. McMaster.

While the White House continues to plan for the North Korea talks, the arrival here Monday of Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, poses an early challenge.

Multiple White House officials said that Tillerson had been informed of the decision Friday, while he was in Ethiopia.

"We were not really thinking the same", Trump said.

In short, President Trump said he was going to drain the swamp and Rex Tillerson looked, to me, to be of the swamp.

Richard Sherman's New Contract Has Seahawk Fans BURNING Jerseys!
But it's clear the Seahawks are a team in transition, although it also remains to be seen how significant this makeover will be. Sherman addressed the jersey burning in a conversation with Peter King . "It will take some getting used to for me".

Many of Trump's top national security aides, like Tillerson, have argued that the United States is better off with the Iran nuclear deal than without it.

All of the officials demanded anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly.

"As a 30-year professional in the Central Intelligence Agency, I have much more comfort in that than putting someone in who is a politician", Nelson said.

Current and former USA intelligence officials who have worked with Haspel praised her as an effective leader who could be expected to stand up to the pressures that Trump has often placed on spy agencies.

Trump seemed to resent pressure to stay the course on such issues as China's trade practices, the war in Afghanistan and the Iran nuclear deal, those people said.

Although Tillerson insisted he had what he called a good relationship with Trump, Tillerson and his small circle of aides often found themselves at odds with some Trump aides.

The Tillerson sacking comes at a sensitive moment in global relations as the president prepares to meet the leader of North Korea for the first time. Tillerson had issued a strong Monday condemnation of Russian Federation for the poisoning of a former spy in the United Kingdom, though it was not immediately clear if this was linked to his dismissal.

Fuelling talk of a serious falling out between the pair, Tillerson was reported late previous year to have referred to Trump as a "moron" after a national security meeting a few months earlier.

Dr. Tim Blessing, a presidential historian at Alvernia University, said the turnover in the Trump administration is unusual but not unprecedented.

Tillerson announced Tuesday he would delegate all authorities to Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan.

He quickly developed a strong relationship with Trump owing to giving daily intelligence briefings to the president himself. The Senate must vote on 61-year-old Haspel's confirmation to succeed Pompeo. He will do a fantastic job!

As for a replacement, he expressed confidence in Pompeo and an expectation that he'll soon hear more from Haspel during confirmation proceedings. Trump is notoriously uninterested in details, so Pompeo has shortened the material and reportedly avoids critical issues such as Russian interference in USA interests, which might anger the boss.