U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had replaced Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, following a series of public rifts with the top diplomat.

REX Tillerson has been fired as America’s Secretary of State and will be replaced by CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

The president announced the sacking of his top diplomat - the equivalent of Australia’s foreign minister - over Twitter, which is reportedly how Mr Tillerson learned of his fate.

“Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job!” Mr Trump tweeted.

“Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service!” he added.

The US president announced the appointment of Gina Haspel to head the Central Intelligence Agency — the first woman tapped for the post.

Mr Trump told reporters he made the decision to oust Mr Tillerson “by myself.”

He added that Mr Tillerson will be “much happier now,” acknowledging the fact that the pair had butted heads on a number of issues.

“We’ve been talking about this for a long time ... We disagreed on things ... The Iran deal ... So we were not thinking the same,” Mr Trump said.

The US President said he and Mr Pompeo shared “a similar thought process” and that his new appointment was a man with “tremendous energy, tremendous intellect” and that “we’re always on the same wavelength”.

CNN reports that Mr Tillerson was told on Friday while he was travelling in Africa that Mr Trump wanted him out.

The undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, Steve Goldstein, released an extraordinary statement saying Mr Trump never explained to Mr Tillerson the reason why he was fired.

“The Secretary had every intention of staying because of the critical progress made in national security,” Mr Goldstein said in a statement. “The Secretary did not speak to the President and is unaware of the reason, but he is grateful for the opportunity to serve, and still believes strongly that public service is a noble calling.”

Hours later, the White House fired Mr Goldstein by phone.

He had been in the role only three months.

Rumours had been swirling since late last year that Mr Tillerson would be departing.

A senior administration source said Mr Trump had decided on the ouster to “have his new team in place in advance of the upcoming talks with North Korea and various ongoing trade negotiations”.

Mr Tillerson had last week appeared blindsided by Mr Trump’s historic decision to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Mr Tillerson, the former head of ExxonMobil, reportedly called Mr Trump a “moron” after a July 20 meeting with the US president.

He has refused to deny making the comments despite numerous opportunities.

Mr Trump and Mr Tillerson have been out of step on a number of issues including the Iran nuclear deal, North Korea and Russia.

Mr Tillerson, who had a close relationship with Russia and Vladimir Putin during his time with ExxonMobil, was the only one in the administration yesterday who said Russia was “clearly” involved in the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in the UK.

“Secretary Tillerson is a true patriot that has severed (sic) our nation well. Thank you for serving. Mike Pompeo will be an outstanding Secretary of State — the Senate should act swiftly to confirm him,” he wrote.

Speaking to reporters hours after being unceremoniously fired by Mr Trump in a tweet, Mr Tillerson says he will be formally stepping down from his post at the end of the month and will be delegating his responsibilities at the end of the workday today to Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan..

Mr Tillerson also called for an orderly transition to Mike Pompeo, the CIA director whom Mr Trump has designated as Mr Tillerson’s successor pending confirmation by the Senate. He encouraged State Department employees to remain focused on their jobs.

Mr Tillerson’s firing comes a day after the mysterious departure of Mr Trump’s longtime personal aide and body man Johnny McEntee.

Mr McEntee, who worked closely with the Trump family members of the White House, will join the president’s campaign team for the 2018 midterm and 2020 presidential elections.

His appointment was announced alongside that of 2016 campaign spokesman Katrina Pierson. Both will serve as senior advisers.

“As we build out our operations for the 2018 midterm elections and the 2020 re-election campaign, we are pleased to welcome back two outstanding members of our 2016 team,” campaign manager Brad Parscale said.

“We need the help of proven leaders such as Katrina and John to promote the President’s growing portfolio of achievements across the country.”

Mr McEntee, a former University of Connecticut quarterback and star of a viral YouTube trick-throw video, has been with the president since day one.

CNN reported that the former teetotalling alter boy was fired and escorted out of the White House after it emerged that the Department of Homeland Security was investigating him for serious financial crimes.

Mr McEntee was not allowed to collect his belongings when he was escorted from White House grounds. He left without his coat.

Spokeswoman Sarah Sanders declined to comment saying “We don’t comment on personnel issues.”

Mr Trump is not the first Republican president to fire his secretary of state.

Alexander Haig was fired by Ronald Reagan about a year after the assassination attempt on the president.

After Reagan was shot, Mr Haig reportedly said “I am in control here” as a result of Reagan’s hospitalisation, indicating that, while Reagan had not “transferred the helm”, Mr Haig was in fact directing White House crisis management until Vice President George HW Bush arrived in Washington to assume that role.

The US constitution though states that the Speaker of the House and the Senate President proceed the secretary of state in the line of succession.

Colin Powell became President George W. Bush’s secretary of state in 2000, but resigned in 2004 after acknowledging his defence of an Iraq invasion was based on faulty information.

WHO WILL BECOME TRUMP’S NEW ECONOMIC ADVISER?

Mr Trump said he’s strongly considering selecting CNBC senior contributor Larry Kudlow to succeed Gary Cohn as his top economic adviser, praising the veteran financial commentator and campaign supporter.

Mr Trump told reporters that he was “looking at Larry Kudlow very strongly” and noted that while he and Mr Kudlow didn’t agree on the president’s recent decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, Mr Kudlow’s views would be helpful to him.

“I think Larry has a very good chance,” Mr Trump said.

He noted that Kudlow, an advocate of free trade, is a longtime friend who had been an early supporter of Mr Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Mr Kudlow is CNBC’s senior contributor and was previously the host of CNBC’s prime-time show The Kudlow Report.

He served in the Office of Management and Budget during President Ronald Reagan’s administration.

In addition to Mr Kudlow, potential successors include Chris Liddell, who serves as the White House’s director of strategic initiatives, and Shahira Knight, Gary Cohn’s deputy at the National Economic Council and a key architect of the president’s tax overhaul law.

The president said last week that Mr Cohn, the former top Goldman Sachs executive, was likely to return to his administration in the future.

Mr Cohn strongly opposed the president’s plan to slap tariffs on steel and aluminium imports and worked to provide exemptions to US allies such as Canada and Mexico.

Mr Cohn played a central role in helping Mr Trump enact a sweeping tax overhaul law, co-ordinating with members of Congress.

His departure has been worrisome for Capitol Hill Republicans and business groups who have been concerned that Mr Trump may install more protectionist economic policies amid a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.</s>Image copyright Reuters Image caption Larry Kudlow is a well-known conservative commentator

Television commentator Lawrence Kudlow has accepted the role of top economic adviser to US president Donald Trump, the White House confirmed.

Mr Kudlow will lead the National Economic Council after Gary Cohn quit last week.

Mr Cohn resigned after disagreeing with Mr Trump about his planned tariffs on metal imports.

Mr Kudlow, a former Bear Stearns investment banker, is currently a pundit on business news channel CNBC.

Critics have pointed out his awry predictions in recent years, including that "the outlook for stocks is getting better and better" in September 2008. Days later the stock market crashed amid the global financial crisis.

"Larry Kudlow was offered, and accepted, the position of Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

"We will work to have an orderly transition and will keep everyone posted on the timing of him officially assuming the role."

Mr Kudlow confirmed the news to Reuters news agency earlier.

He was an early supporter of Mr Trump, and is a well-known conservative voice.

What is his background?

He was born in New Jersey and studied at the University of Rochester and Princeton's school of public and international affairs.

His career in economics started with a junior position at the New York branch of the Federal Reserve.

He moved to work as an economist for Wall Street firms and for former President Ronald Reagan in Washington, where he helped to make the case for the first round of 1980s tax cuts.

In 1994, Mr Kudlow spoke to the New York Times about battling drug and alcohol addiction, saying he hoped his story would help others in the position. The problem had led to his resignation as chief economist from the Bear Stearns investment bank.

Mr Kudlow, who calls himself a "long-run optimist", subsequently re-invented himself as a media personality, hosting radio and television programmes, including for the business news channel CNBC, where he remains a contributor.

Analysis: BBC US business reporter Joe Miller

In his trademark blue pinstripe shirts and monogrammed cufflinks, Larry Kudlow has been a fixture on US financial television for more than a decade, and a reliable cheerleader for American business.

A proponent of lower taxes, Mr Kudlow made his name at the ill-fated Bear Stearns before working in the Reagan administration.

He denounced Donald Trump's comments about women in a tape released during the 2016 presidential campaign, and has repeatedly criticised the White House for its attacks on free trade - including the recently announced tariffs.

But the president, who once worked as a Wall St pundit alongside Mr Kudlow, was reportedly won over by his TV presentation skills.

Where does he stand on the issues?

Mr Kudlow is known as a "supply side" economist - a champion of lower taxes, which he says spur consumer spending and lead to economic growth. He was an informal adviser to Mr Trump during the presidential campaign.

He is also a self-described "inflation hawk" - though he has called recent concerns "misplaced".

As an ardent free-trader, he has defended the North American Free Trade Agreement and was critical of President Trump's recent plan to impose 25% tariffs on foreign steel and 10% tariffs on foreign aluminium.

But he praised the president for exempting Mexico and Canada. He has also urged targeted action against China, especially when it comes to intellectual property.

Those views make him a fairly typical, establishment Republican - which makes it a bit of a surprise that Mr Kudlow is a former Democrat and was a member of the left-wing Students for a Democratic Society.

What is the reaction?

FreedomWorks, a conservative group that advocates for lower taxes, had urged Mr Trump to select Mr Kudlow,

Others have been more sceptical.

David Stockman, Mr Kudlow's former boss during the Reagan administration, told the Washington Post in 2016 that Mr Kudlow's prediction that tax cuts would lead to growth was "dead wrong". Instead, he said the cuts led to budget deficits.

More recently, he has warned that Mr Kudlow would not be able to rein in the president.

"As much as I love him ... Larry's voice is exactly the wrong voice that Donald Trump ought to be hearing as we go forward," he told CNBC.

Liberal economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has been sharply critical, noting that Mr Kudlow missed signs of the housing bubble and recession.

"At least he's reliable -- that is, he's reliably wrong about everything," Mr Krugman tweeted.

Indeed in December 2007 - just as the recession was beginning - Mr Kudlow wrote in the National Review: "There's no recession coming. The pessimistas were wrong. It's not going to happen."</s>: The Wall Street Journal confirms that Larry Kudlow was offered the job as director of the National Economic Council and he accepted.

As we detailed earlier, what had been rumored for days, was just confirmed by CNBC, which reported moments ago that President Donald Trump plans to name Larry Kudlow as his top economic advisor.

Trump could announce his decision to choose Kudlow as his National Economic Council chairman as soon as Thursday. The CNBC senior contributor and on-air personality would replace Gary Cohn, who left the White House earlier this month amid disagreements about tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

As has been the case in past days, when every time news of Kudlow's role in the NEC emerged the market rebounded, today was no exception, and the S&P has managed a modest rebound on the news that a somewhat moderate economist will replace Gary Cohn.</s>President Donald Trump plans to name Larry Kudlow as his top economic advisor, sources told CNBC.

Trump could announce his decision to choose Kudlow as his National Economic Council director as soon as Thursday. The president offered the economist and senior CNBC contributor the job on Tuesday night, and Kudlow accepted, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC.

Kudlow, 70, would replace Gary Cohn, who resigned last week after losing his fight against tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Kudlow advocates for free trade and generally opposes tariffs.

When Cohn left, Kudlow expressed his disappointment with the move. On Tuesday, the president said he would welcome disagreement from Kudlow if he chose him for the post.

"We don't agree on everything, but in this case I think that's good," Trump said. "I want to have different opinions. We agree on most. He now has come around to believing in tariffs as a negotiating point."</s>President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Larry Kudlow has a "good chance" to take over as his top economic advisor.

"I'm looking at Larry Kudlow very strongly," Trump told reporters as he prepared to depart for California. "I think Larry Kudlow has a good chance."

Trump also said he was "speaking to many others" about possibly filling the role.

Gary Cohn, who had held the position, left the White House last week after a disagreement with Trump over tariffs on aluminum and steel imports.

The president's remarks on Kudlow came a day after CNBC's Jim Cramer reported that Kudlow, a longtime CNBC senior contributor and on-air personality, is the leading contender to take over as director of the National Economic Council. Kudlow, a former Wall Street economist and free trade advocate, would take the job if Trump offered it, Cramer also reported.

Kudlow criticized Trump's decision to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, and lamented that Cohn left the White House, However, Kudlow applauded the administration's decision to give tariff exemptions to Canada and Mexico.

In his remarks Tuesday, Trump said he would welcome disagreement from Kudlow.

"We don't agree on everything, but in this case I think that's good," Trump said. "I want to have different opinions. We agree on most. He now has come around to believing in tariffs as a negotiating point."

Trump has tied the exemptions for Mexico and Canada to ongoing negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement, which the president has threatened to scrap unless the U.S. can secure what he sees as a better deal.

Kudlow declined to comment on Monday's report from Cramer.</s>"Larry Kudlow was offered, and accepted, the position of Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council," Sanders said. "We will work to have an orderly transition and will keep everyone posted on the timing of him officially assuming the role."

Kudlow is a conservative commentator and newspaper columnist who previously worked as a television host for the media outlet CNBC.

The move makes Kudlow second top economic adviser to president Donald Trump after Gary Cohn — a former Goldman Sachs executive who worked for Trump for more than a year — announced he would resign on March 6 over disagreements regarding the president 's decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is making a big error in selecting economic analyst Larry Kudlow to serve as the next director of the National Economic Council, Congressman Ted Lieu said in a statement.

"[Trump] is making a big mistake by selecting Kudlow," Lieu said via Twitter on Wednesday. "His ideas are harmful to America."

Lieu said he drew concern from an article written by Kudlow in which he argued for the invasion of Iraq because it would boost the stock market.</s>Conservative commentator and former Reagan administration official Larry Kudlow has accepted the job of White House National Economic Council director, replacing Gary Cohn, Fox News has learned.

President Trump offered Kudlow the job just one week after Cohn resigned from his post as the president’s chief economic adviser, a senior administration official told Fox News.

“Larry Kudlow was offered, and accepted, the position of Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement Wednesday. "We will work to have an orderly transition and will keep everyone posted on the timing of him officially assuming the role.”

Kudlow’s extensive career in finance includes stints working for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and serving as a chief economist and senior managing director at Bear Stearns, the defunct investment bank that failed during the 2008 financial crisis.

Kudlow served as the associate director for economics and

 planning in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during former President Ronald Reagan’s first term.

Kudlow is now a CNBC senior contributor and was previously the host of CNBC's prime-time "The Kudlow Report."

Cohn resigned amid opposition to the president’s decision to announce tariffs on all imports of steel and aluminum. Hours before his resignation, Trump set a “line in the sand” asking Cohn if he would support the new policy, and Cohn did not answer, a White House official and an outside adviser to the president told Fox News.

Kudlow, who advised Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, also was against the idea of tariffs, writing an op-ed against Trump’s plan, calling it a “crisis of logic.”

The president this week reportedly acknowledged that he and Kudlow “don’t agree on everything,” but welcomes having a difference of opinion among his close advisers.

Just last week, the president said “I like conflict.”

“I like having two people with different points of view. And I certainly have that,” Trump said. “And then I make a decision. But I like watching it. I like seeing it. And I think it’s the best way to go.”

But Kudlow has praised the president’s work on tax reform, writing last year that, “Trump and the GOP are on the side of the growth angels with the passage of powerful tax-cut legislation to boost business investment, wages, and take-home family pay. The Democrats, meanwhile, are left with stale class-warfare slogans about tax cuts for the rich.”</s>Adam Jeffery/CNBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump has picked conservative economic commentator and former Reagan official Larry Kudlow to lead the National Economic Council, the White House confirmed Wednesday.

Press secretary Sarah Sanders said the president extended the offer directly to Kudlow and that he has accepted the role.

“Larry Kudlow was offered, and accepted, the position of assistant to the president for economic policy and director of the National Economic Council. We will work to have an orderly transition and will keep everyone posted on the timing of him officially assuming the role,” Sanders said in a statement.

Kudlow will replace Gary Cohn, who resigned last week as the president’s chief economic adviser after he lost his fight to stop Trump from imposing steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Kudlow, a CNBC commentator, also has previously opposed tariffs, but Trump said Tuesday that Kudlow has “come around” on the issue.

Kudlow previously advised the Trump campaign on economic issues. He also helped shape the Reagan administration’s economic policy, when he served in the Office of Management and Budget.

The president has made no secret about Kudlow being a top contender for the job, noting his early support for his presidential bid even as he acknowledged, and welcomed, their philosophical disagreements on some economic issues.

“I’ve known him a long time. We don’t agree on everything. In this case, I think it’s good. I want a diverging opinion,” Trump said Tuesday.</s>UPDATED at 12:44 p.m. Nationally syndicated columnist and commentator Larry Kudlow said he has accepted Donald Trump’s offer to become the president’s top economic advisor.

“I am thrilled and honored to serve this President,” Kudlow told WABC Radio Host Rita Cosby. “I am ready to serve President Trump and the country. I am very excited to work with President Trump and work on the economy for this country.”

Trump hinted broadly that Kudlow would become his next National Economic Council director, telling reporters yesterday that he was giving his long-time advisor and former Reagan administration veteran strong consideration — even though the two men “don’t agree on everything.”

“Larry has been a friend of mine for a long time. He backed me very early in the campaign. I think the earliest — I think he was one of my original backers,” Trump said. “He’s a very, very talented man, a good man. And I think Larry Kudlow has a good chance. I’m also speaking to many others, but I think Larry has a very good chance.”

CNBC reported that the announcement could come as soon as Thursday. The 70-year-old Kudlow would replace Gary Cohn, who resigned last week after losing his battle against imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Kudlow opposed the tariffs as well, writing an open letter to Trump saying such a protectionist move is nothing but a tax hike in disguise, that gets passed on to consumers at the cash register.

“He now has come around to believing in tariffs as also a negotiating point,” Trump told reporters. ” You know, I’m renegotiating trade deals. And without tariffs, we wouldn’t do nearly as well.”

Kudlow is a frequent commentator for CNBC, has a morning talk show called The Larry Kudlow Show on WABC and contributes to The National Review. Once a Democrat who supported the candidacy of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Kudlow later served in the Reagan Administration, espousing supply-side economics.

The former Bear Stearns economist was a proponent of Trump’s tax cuts, writing a column for CNBC in which he predicted it would boost business investment, wages and take-home pay.

“More take-home pay is always a winner. And businesses large and small are beginning to pull the investment trigger,” Kudlow wrote. “Yes, the middle class will benefit. But everyone will profit from the first business boom in over 20 years. JFK, Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp, Art Laffer, and the rest of the supply-side clan — which now includes Donald Trump — believes that a rising tide lifts all boats.”

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.</s>An accurate headline could also be: President Trump puts a beautiful potted plant into the unused meeting room of the National Economic Council, and Wall Street cheers.

According to media and White House confirmation President Trump has selected Larry Kudlow to chair the National Economic Council:

Kudlow is essentially adored by Wall Street (writ large), and as such all the nervous nellies will be back-slapping and high-fiving. As the stock market crowd cheers, what the insufferable dolts miss, thankfully miss and don’t appreciate, is the strategy of a master economic predator, Donald Trump. This Trumpian move is brilliant.

First, President Trump is immovable on his trade and economic agenda. Period; end of story. Ask Gary Cohn or any other member of the disassembled manufacturing council advisory board who quit last year because POTUS Trump just wouldn’t heed their duplicitous and high-minded advice. Do you remember candidate Trump mentioning the endless talking to nowhere that he has not time for? Yeah, that.

President Trump has a 30-year-developed plan and strategy for the U.S. to recapture economic power. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and key trade strategist Peter Navarro are carrying out that plan.

Cohn or Kudlow thinking they would somehow disrupt three decades of trade planning by POTUS Trump is too funny to give typeset space.

Secondly, Larry Kudlow has a well known history of drug addition and drug abuse. He will likely never pass the background security clearances. Even Maggie Haberman at the New York Times recognizes this issue.

So what gives? Why would Trump select him?

Again, don’t think about this appointment as an actual intent to ingest a trade policy perspective. That’s nonsense. Oh, he’ll listen; Trump’s a good listener. But what POTUS is doing is giving the Wall Street crowd the appearance of influence; key word “appearance”. It’s a stock market appointment, nothing more. Nothing will change the intent of Trump to deliver on his already-in-the-works economic plan.

POTUS would cut off his own hand before he would change direction on his economic strategy. Remember: “America First”. Titan-minded Trump is the most committed economic influence agent in the history of American politics.

The National Economic Council (NEC) is an entity demanded by the traditions of the Office of the President. They assemble, meet, discuss, hold conferences, invite guests etc. However, for POTUS Trump it’s an exercise in formality run by professionals who benefit from the indulgences of membership.

The NEC has no more influence on Trump’s economic plan than any chosen Country Club has influence over his skills on the golf course.

But it looks good.
U.S. President Donald Trump appoints conservative commentator Larry Kudlow as National Economic Council director, replacing outgoing Gary Cohn.