Pompeo All But Explicitly Attacks Tillerson in First State Department Address

Curt Mills

Politics, North America

He also announced that President Donald Trump will make his first trip to Department headquarters in Foggy Bottom on Wednesday.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave short remarks to State employees Tuesday afternoon. It was his first formal address to staff as secretary, and his comments were clearly intended to contrast himself with his short-lived predecessor, Rex Tillerson.

For one thing, Pompeo did not thank Tillerson during his remarks.

“I’ll spend as little time on the seventh floor — I think it’s the seventh floor, right?” Pompeo said to audience laughter. Pompeo’s reference was to the executive suite of the State building in Washington.

Tillerson’s tenure, from nearly the beginning, was beset with criticisms that the former ExxonMobil CEO cloistered himself on the seventh floor, only dealing with a small coterie of aides, namely Margaret Peterlin, his chief of staff, and his political pointman Brian Hook.

It’s not the first time Pompeo has contrasted his work-style with Tillerson’s. When murmurings—and then reporting, including in the National Interest—began last fall that Pompeo could replace Tillerson, Pompeo gently needled the infamously process-obsessed Tillerson in describing how he oversaw the CIA: “I’ve asked everyone to say, ‘Do not print the org chart out!’ I mean look, the finest companies in the world are restructuring their team every day. ...Start with mission, not with org chart. The organization and the team will fill itself out if everyone’s focused on the mission.”

Pompeo did thank John Sullivan, who served as acting secretary while Pompeo underwent confirmation. Sullivan warmly introduced Pompeo, highlighting both his military experience and Harvard pedigree.