mike pompeo in, rex tillerson out. what else are we learning? >> it's been in the works a long time as jonathan swan mentioned. fr fox news reported last fall rex tillerson would probably leave in the new year. we thought it might have been shortly after the anniversary of the inauguration but we always knew the president didn't have full confidence in rex tillerson and the relationship was one of free-flowing communication. the relationship between the president and mike pompeo are much closer. these are people who see each other every day if not every other day depending on where they're travelling, but this went down on friday when rex tillerson came back from his trip. the president saying i'd like you to step aside. the reason for that is the cat last for all this happening right now is the announcement made by the south korean national security adviser when he said kim jong-un asked for a meeting with the president and we heard from the white house the president said yes. that was the tripwire for this happening because the president wants

>> mike pompeo has the president's confidence. if you're a foreign ally of the united states or a foreign adversary of the u.s., you want to be negotiating with the person that has the president's ear. we've known this all along that there's tensions between tillerson and president trump. now that's been fixed. he may not have liked the manner in which it was fixed, fired by tweet. you may not like the new person coming in, whatever your politics are. this makes the relationship between the president and the critical position of the secretary of state much more coherent. >> melissa: and it was essential to get that done right before we turn the page and go to work on the situation in north korea. >> yeah. i think could have argued that there's a page to turn almost every day in the world, that there's an issue that needs confronting and being dealt with. north korea is huge. before going to north korea, make the change now, it's a little bit more coherent. mind you, this was something tillerson had been pressing for, diplomacy wit

mike pompeo, to the degree he knows him. the most interesting thing was the acknowledgement there is this stress with anyone who tries to do that job of secretary of state because you're so obviously in the president's lane. this is a president who guards the purview of what is in his lane. that tension with tillerson, we'll see if it shows up as attention with possible secretary of state mike pompeo who will have to do the exact same thing in terms of being in the president's lane from time to time. >> who bob corker says he met maybe once which was pretty interesting. those two will have to get up to speed on that relationship quickly. >> absolutely. this will be another heavy lift for the senate and for the senate foreign relations committee to have to confirm a nomination when they have so much other work to get done. ambassadors to get confirmed, oversight on these big issues that the senate does take seriously. now you have another potentially contentious fight dropped in the middle of that in an election year. the deg

he did speak about rex tillerson and mike pompeo. he also spoke about the house intelligence committee, saying there is no evidence of collusi collusion. let's play this right now. >> mr. president -- >> i've worked with mike pompeo now for quite some time. tremendous energy, tremendous intellect. we're always on the same wave leng length. the relationship has always been very good. that's what i need as secretary of state. i wish rex tillerson well. gina who i've worked with very closely will be the first woman director of the cia. she's an outstanding person who also i have gotten to know very well. i've gotten to know a lot of people very well over the last year. and i'm really at a point where we're getting very close to having and other things that i want. but i think mike pompeo will be a truly great secretary of state. i have total confidence in him. as far as rex tillerson is concerned, i very much appreciate his commitment and his service and i wish him well. he's a good man. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> rex and i have been

he willident says nominate mike pompeo to replace tillerson. how the state department could change under pompeo's leadership. we want to get straight to abigail doolittle. 19 minutes into the u.s. trading minutes into the u.s. trading session. abigail: we have a relatively bullish reaction. we are well off the highs for the major averages. the nasdaq has just flipped ever so slightly lower. as investors digest all the news of the day, more uncertainty, similar to what we saw yesterday. we started higher and then finished for the dow and s&p 500 lower. perhaps another version of that. today, it is the nasdaq that is lagging. transports up .8%. airlines trading sharply higher. united continental coming out, raising its view to up 1-3%. that is a revenue view in the airline industry. their pretax margin will be higher. they are tightening capacity. they may have the ability at some point to raise fares. another tailwind for the airline industry, oil. it has been all over the map on the day. around the time of the rex tillerson news, we saw oil bri

with mike, mike pompeo, we have a very similar thought process. i think it's going to go very well. i actually got along well with rex, but really, it was a different mindset. it was a different thinking. >> joining me is nbc national correspondent peter alexander at the white house. msnbc political analyst and "the washington post" white house bureau chief phil rucker, david ignatius, gardner harris, who was just on the plane with rex tillerson coming back early this morning from africa and on that whole seven-day trip, and nbc national political reporter carol lee. phil, let's go first to you. you and your team broke the story. the surprising announcement today that despite all their tensions for more than a year, that rex tillerson was fired on twitter. >> yeah. well, andrea, it's interesting, there seems to be some conflicting information, because the white house is telling us that chief of staff john kelly actually called tillerson overnight in the wee hours saturday in africa, woke him up from his sleep to tell him that, you know, his job was in jeopardy, he ought to get back

you're going to like mike pompeo. he's going to articulate what the president wants because he agrees with the president. >> jessica, from what sandra was saying, the update is that mitch mcconnell fully believes there will be a confirmation procession for pompeo. i read even if they didn't want to do that, they had 210 days to let him sit in an interim positions. where will democrats fall on him if it gets that far? >> i think it depends how much closer we get to the election. >> what does that mean? >> there's people that we have a lot of blue senators running in red states. people that have talked about the need to increase the size of the military and more hawkish than some of the californians. there's some leeway there. a key distinction to be raising between saying mike pompeo is not qualified and saying he's not the right choice for the way you want america to be reason. that's what democrats are saying. they're not saying, oh, that school isn't good enough or westpoint -- >> what don't they like? >> they don't

mike pompeo is a "yes" man. amy: i want to go back to lee fang for one minute on a different issue, and that is the special election that we are the result so. it looks like in this district, there maybe a complete upset, district in pennsylvania that trump won by like 20%. the republican candidate, who has yet to concede defeat, though he is down hundreds of us, but the final vote is not in, rick saccone for you right -- "former intelligence support consultant for the u.s. army of the infamous abu ghraib prison." can you expand on that? >> rick saccone describes himself as trump before trump was trump. this is someone who has been very bombastic, attacked immigrants. he has a very right-wing agenda. he is a interesting history as well. inviously before he served the pennsylvania state legislature, he was a consultant for interrogations in iraq, actually serving in abu ghraib. he wrote an entire book defending torture. this is a very unusual candidate in certain respects, but this is a huge election in terms of

understand mike pompeo is a friend. they have already written a glowing column about his appointment for the "washington post". mike pompeo is a weekly guest for a couple years on my radio show. he demonstrates sound judgment, affability and a deep, deep intellect. we won the confidence of the career staff at the cia and excelled there. more importantly, he won the confidence of president trump. they share a view on the iran deal and the strategic assessment of the problem of north korea and china and, yes, russia. he is a russia hawk. pompeo could turn out to be to donald trump and kissinger to nixon, a right arm. he graduated first in his class at west point, a lawyer at d.c. williams and conley before launching a political career in kansas and congress thereafter. but he mostly is competent. he will bring in a great team, instruct them they are the president's team and the united states's team. and he will lead and he will communicate in a direct, sometimes blunt, always truthful kansas fashion like that other great

than mike pompeo. in that regard, i think he'll be very effective. >> secretary tillerson had, it seemed, much more muscular stance on russia than the president did. how many of a factor do you think that might have been in his decision? >> mike pompeo's taken a back seat to anyone when it comes to russia. mike is very clear that russians interfered in our elections and russians are bad actor. i don't think it has anything to do with that. i think it has a lot to do with the fact that pompeo seems to be closer to trump and he wants somebody i think he feels closer to. >> two top-level cabinet officials out in a week. how much does that concern you about the stability of the people advising the president? >> i think pompeo's a good choice. >> senator inhofe, a word about the departure -- >> so stephanie, you get the idea, regardless of the question, graham wanted to talk about pompeo as a good fit for the secretary of state role. remember, pompeo will have to get confirmed for that job. he's going to ha

cia director mike pompeo, the president's pick to replace tillerson. a lot of reports of how and when the call came down to replace the secretary of state. a lot of versions about why as well. admittedly, a decision that appears to have been a long time coming. yet with the president touting the end of the house russian investigation in big bold capital letters today. not to mention that big photo op trip to california. why now is an equally big mystery laying in the rubble of tillerson's firing. let's start with our reporters. nbc's peter alexander is at the white house. msnbc's garrett haake is on capitol hill. let's start with you, mr mr. alexander. break down the why, the when and the how of it, if you can, as we understand, the facts to be, at 1:01 on the east coast. >> first, the why this happened now. certainly a stunning announcement. the fact it was announced on twitter perhaps not surprising to some. we knew there had long time been a feud between these men. the fact it happened today. why today? a senior administration official tell us the w

director mike pompeo. law.duate of harvard mr. trump wants gina haskell to become the first woman to lead the c.i.a. she's a career c.i.a. employee. but it could be complicated by the fact she how a torture effort in 2011. word h.r. mcmaster may be replaced after the president suggested he wants to build a new teamligned to his agenda and style. the model inside the white house in recent days has verged on mania, as trump increasingly keeps hisnd own counsel senior aides struggle to determine the gradations between rumor and truth. peter peter, what is going on? is the president more comfortable making these decisions or does he want people to fight it out to see who's going to win? peter: this is probably the wildest week of the trump presidency since last week. likes this kind of churning. he -- it keeps things exciting. remember, he spent 14 years as a reality show host so he likes to keep u on edge to see what's happening next week. pete: is that your own met or for-- metaphor or is that the rey way he really thinks about it?

what kind of mindset the cia direct mike pompeo bring to thejob in mindset the cia direct mike pompeo bring to the job in terms of foreign policy? —— director. bring to the job in terms of foreign policy? -- director. mike pompeo is a key party congressman from kansas. it is said he won admiration from donald trump during the briefings. now with the crucial issues like north korea and the iran nuclear deal, mike pompeo is more hawkish than his predecessor, rex tillerson. as far as russia and china is concerned, though, we will have to wait and see. mike pompeo as differences over the assessment russia was to blame for meddling in the 2016 presidential election. what i think this means is that we now have a secretary of state who is much more likely to echo common foreign policy with the president rather than constantly being undermined by the commander—in—chief as was the case with rex tillerson. well, let's get more now on the implications of rex tillerson‘s sacking for the potential meeting between donald trump and north korea's kimjong—un. i asked jessica lee, director

the house likes mike pompeo. they know the relationship between mike pompeo as the cia director and the president is certainly better than where rex tillerson was. the hill has a difficult time not unlike our u.s. allies in trying to figure out if what rex tillerson was saying was where the white house is. as the admiral stated, a lot of republicans i spoke to were a little unsettled about how this actually came to be, right? i was at breakfast with two administration officials this morning, and i informed them that this had occurred. that was pretty much par for the course across the capitol. john cornyn found out through news alerts. every republican aide i spoke to with the exception of the speaker in the senate found out through twitter wars. usually you have a white house team to handle that issue. the other issue is the confirmation process. this is going to take a very long time to actually move through. april will be the first hearings on mike pompeo. but as you noted, it's an election year, and what this

we haven't talked much about the replacement yet, mike pompeo. bret, you had an interview in september where you talked about this policy. >> yeah, it was the regan defense forum. it was circulating that rex tillerson would be replaced by pompeo and that possibly senator tom cotton was being talked about as somebody that could go to cia. following up on that story, i asked him as the first question in a forum with the director of cia pompeo and former director leon panetta about that position. he kind of laughed it off and said he was going to work hard at the job he currently has, a lot of trust that pompeo has with this president. he briefs him and has briefed him all the time. they established a close relationship. >> dana: i wanted to ask you about what rich edson brought up. there was tension with rex tillerson from the very beginning. rex tillerson always said that he was not a creature of washington. he didn't understand it. he didn't really fit in there and he wore that as a badge of honor. on the policy standpoint, when it comes to the i

mike pompeo was reportedly in the room for that. dan coats discussed this with other officials afterwards and decided he wouldn't do what trump asked him to do. what did mike pompeo do? we have no idea. but we do know he was in the room and saw it. so, mike pompeo's role in the investigation is a black box but we know he's been in the middle of it. he made a critical change to the structure of that agency, as well. within the cia, there is a counter intelligence mission center. this is the unit that helped trigger the investigation into possible collusion between the trump campaign and russia. that part of the cia that was a conduit for information between russian individuals and associates of the trump campaign. this is a sensitive center within the cia. this is the part of the cia specifically that turned up intel that helped start the investigation into possible collusion between the trump campaign and russia. while he was at cia, mike pompeo did a little reorganizing that made it so that unit reports directly to him. he reorgani

he's replacing him with cia director mike pompeo. this ends a tumultuous tenure with america's top diplomat that was marked with a series of disagreements with the president. >> i've gotten along really well with some people over the last year. i've gone to the point where we are close to having the cabinet and other things that i want. shery: joining us with more is inin cirilli in pennsylvania the 18th district, home to today's special election. tillerson's departure has long been speculated about. there's even a nickname, calling it rexit. kevin: rex tillerson is out after months of speculation about how long he would last. to takee pompeo set over at the state department at the u.s.'s top diplomat. is was close to pompeo tells me this is something that's been in the works for some time. they feel confident this transition will be one that will go smoothly. earlierident saying that he wants to have his team in place in order to get those deals through. ofe fallout from the firing rex tillerson -- his top aide also fired today, rel

he‘s been replaced by the director of the cia, mike pompeo. the state department said mr tillerson had not spoken to the president and was "unaware of the reason" for his firing. and i‘m been told that in about 20 minutes rex tillerson is expected to make a statement on camera following his departure. that is coming up for top joining me now from for top washington is philipj crowley — former us. assistant secretary of state and author of red line: american foreign policy in a time of fractured politics and failing states. we will come to the method of the dismissal in a moment but can i ask you first about the significance of the sacking in itself is far as american policy and its status in the world is concerned. american policy and its status in the world is concernedlj american policy and its status in the world is concerned. i do not think we were surprised that the break—up occurred. there was tension in that relationship and it has been visible in washington for months. i think that the timing is remarkable given that it comes on

. >> i think mike pompeo is a great professional. he will be able to encourage the rank and file of our diplomatic core to get excited about their job. his learning curve is not going to be as steep. he already has relationships with some of these foreign leaders that he's going to be working on. that's great. and elevating gina to the director is a good move as well. her background, experience, she's smart, tough. she has the support of the rank and file and she's an ultimate professional and someone that will be great to helm that ship. having continuity of leadership is important for the men and women in the cia in order to do the hard work that they're tasked to do. >> harris: i saw a short while ago there was a list of gop members that said that they support her and coming out, the timing of that. you see this moving along quickly? >> it's hard to guess what our friends in the senate will do. i do -- don't quote me on this. but i think dianne feinstein said she was supportive of gina. that is a big deal. i heard that in the hall

what stand is mike pompeo expected to take? as of this morning, we have nearly completed a very hard-line national security, international affairs team around the president that accurately reflects his worldview. is, as they move forward, especially with the midterms in mind but also with negotiations with china and possibly with north korea in line, they will want to give life to the national security strategy that the president signed in december of leicester that identify china and russia as economic adversaries who oppose national security risks to the u.s. the eurasia group has long believe that protections and investment in certain sectors is on one end, the investment opportunities with china but also that the administration is intent on that ends ups. ip in china. as of this morning, the negotiating stance from the white house is much tougher across the board on international affairs. sheri: section 301, the next big one, thank you for joining us. still i had, u.s. inflation is firming up without revving up. pace?ill it

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replaced by cia director mike pompeo. the move was announced by the president on twitter this morning just hours after tillerson arrived home from a trip across africa. an aide says they hope to hold the confirmation hearing by april. u.s. just tweeted this about pompeo. congratulations, my friend and soon to be secretary of state mike pompeo. great decision by the president. u.s. secretary of the interior is testifying right now before a senate energy and natural resources committee. the committee is examining the president's budget request for the department of the interior for fiscal year 2019. he is expected to be asked about his taxpayer funded expenses while traveling. >>> defense secretary james mattis made a surprise visit to kabul, afghanistan this morning. he's set to meet with top u.s. commanders. earlier, he told reporters he believes a peace settlement between the afghan government and the taliban is possible. >>> president trump blocked a $117 billion merger between broadcom and qualcomm in an effort to prev

mike pompeo and who he is. mike pompeo is expected to face what could be a tough senate confirmation hearing in april. so let's look at this new nominee to the -- to head the state department. he served in congress as a tea party republican from kansas in 2011. until he was chosen to serve as president trump's cia director. now, during his time on capitol hill, mike pompeo took issue with the 2014 report in which senate democrats were critical of enhanced interrogation techniques or torture like waterboarding. i'm going to talk extensively about torture later in the show. but pompeo said of these people, these men and women are not torturers, they're patriots. the programs being used were within the law, within the constitution. but in his confirmation hearing last year, he softened that stance a little bit. >> if you were ordered by the president to restart the cia's use of enhanced interrogation techniques that fall outside of the army field manual, would you comply? >> senator, absolutely not. there's no dou

rex tillerson is out and mike pompeo within. we will have walked from the correspondent in washington shortly. the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, has said he's encouraged by the strength of support from britain's allies following the poisoning of a former spy in salisbury last week. theresa may has said it's highly likely that russia was behind the attack on sergei skripal and his daughter, and has given the kremlin until midnight to explain its role. moscow has denied any involvement and has summoned the british ambassador. russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov dismissed as rubbish claims that his country was behind the poisoning. our first report this lunchtime is by richard galpin. the historic city of salisbury, population around 50,000. the location of the first chemical weapons attack in this country. not a standard nerve agent was used, but one called novichok, which is exceptionally potent and persistent. this is the most deadly chemical agent we have ever come across, that has the potential to kill many millions of

host: your colleague wrote a asking if mike pompeo can turn the state department around. she lists areas he would have to address to restore the state department. she writes that people appoint leadership, rex tillerson had a tiny inner circle and mike pompeo would have to do a better job with that. policy. she says the state department has been mia under this administration. also trust. do you agree those are the areas that pompeo has to focus on and you think he can turn it around? guest: since she is my boss i think i agree wholeheartedly with her. i will go back to rex tillerson. he had a specific thought about how he wanted to manage the place and it didn't tell a small group around -- it did entail a small group around him and so there was less interest in getting personnel in place. i think that is wrong because the point of the state department is the department heads, the bureau heads, the assistant secretaries, and when those jobs are not filled or those jobs are left with uncertainty, than the result is you will have a less effective state department. ray is on

vonnie: with mike on pao, there was almost -- pompeo there is almost no issue. will there be difficult issues confirmed? pompeo craig: i think it will go easily. he is respected well on the hill and they usually treat their own well. he is thought to bring a real level of professionalism to the cia, definitely a boy listed donald trump. probably for everything rex and andp disagree with, pompeo think heee on but i do is thought of as a proof and someone who can lead the state department more to trump's liking. vonnie: trump did not have the best relationship with the cia itself but a great one with mike pompeo. how does the think he is thought of as a proof and someone who can cia do under mie pompeo? craig: people were called early on that donald trump was very critical of the cia when some of the russia investigation got started, saying essentially the got it wrong in iraq and they never found wmd, so that started on a rocky tone. i think pompeo was there to smooth the waters. not to say he would say, do not believe everything trump says, but i think he was vi

pompeo, now the rector of the c.i.a. >> i've worked with mike pompeo now for some time. tremendous energy. tremendous intellect. we're always on the same wave length. >> woodruff: that shared wavelength amounts to a hawkish foreign policy vision. pompeo opposes the iran nuclear deal, supports keeping guantanamo bay open, and he has said the u.s. will give "no concessions" re north the republican chair of the senate foreign relations committee, bob corker, says he needs to get to know pompeo. >> i've never really had much if any dealings with him, i'm not sure we've even met. >> woodruff: if he's confirmed, pompeo will also confront a troubled work force. tillerson presided over efforts to cut almost a third of the state partment's budget. in turn, the foreign service has lost 60% of its career ambassadors during t trump administration. the ambassadorship tsouth korea remains unfilled, and the ambassador to mexico announced her resignation last week. tillerson today claimed progress on north korea, syria and iraq. at the c.i.a., the president's choice to replace pompeo, d

i think mike pompeo has understanding. this is a regime, the north korean regime that signed the nonproliferation treaty in 1985 under pressure from ronald reagan but basically violated every year after that. i think it will be a very tough negotiation. i think having mike pompeo he said the president, and ace lawyer, ace military officer, an individual who is experienced being a congressman. he knows international as well as domestic politics. i think you couldn't do better than that. what it will mean is taking ahead of time, preparing for exactly what one, the endgame has to be known before you go in and i think, i think it has great promise. folks are skeptical and so am i but i think there is real promise. >> no rand paul is skeptical as well. thank you for weighing in on this matter. we will continue to follow developments of the career now moving forward from the cia to potentially the state department. of course he has to be confirmed by the senate.we will see what happens. thank you. >> yes, sir. >> a word between

pompeo. >> sandra: there's rex tillerson bowing out with grace and mike pompeo selected to replace him but there's a confirmation hearing first and bob corker will be heading up the hearing. senator, welcome. >> good to be with you, sandra, thank you. >> sandra: first, chairman, i'll ask you if you and your colleagues thought tillerson was doing a good job? >> look, i had a close relationship with secretary tillerson and thought he gave sound advice. i enjoyed working with him very much. i knew it wasn't perfect. the president and i talk often also and look, i knew the relationship was not perfect. i did think, sandra, since about the beginning of december they'd begun to work together a little bit better and a little bit of a reprieve taking place but look, the president is a very entrepreneurial person and pick up the phone and makes things happen and rex tillerson is from exxon and ceo and put plans in place for the longer term. i think there was just a clash of cultures. they had different views on things and ultimately the president needs to have a secretary of state he feels good

pompeo. >> to replace mike pompeo as the head of the cia the president has nominated gina haspel. first woman to head the cia and spent most of her 33-year-old career overseas and under cover. a slur of current and former officials praised her leader stand up under pressure that the trump administration places on spy agency. her nomination was quickly opposed by some lawmakers, human rights groups and a few religious organizations. haspel, of course, ran one of the first cia black sites in thailand called cats eye where al qaeda suspects like usama bin laden, top lieutenant abu zubaydah. he was waterboarding 38 times. haspel group of cia officials involved in group destroy videotapes. the aclu calls her a war criminal. john brennan the former cia chief under president obama said this on msnbc. watch. >> she has tried to carry out her responsibilities to the best of her ability and consistent with what cia legal authorities were. don't forget the intense interrogation program was authorized by the united states and deemed lawful by the department of justice. >> g.o.p. senator and c

well, mike pompeo is a tea party congressman from kansas. he's said to have won the admiration of donald trump delivering the morning classified briefing three or four times a week. now, they're in lockstep, the two, over the crucial issues like north korea and the iran nuclear deal. mike pompeo is much more hawkish than his predecessor, rex tillerson. as far as russia and china is concerned, though, we willjust have to wait and see. mike pompeo has differed with president trump over the cia's assessment that russia was to blame for meddling in the 2016 presidential election. but what i think mike pompeo‘s appointment means, rico, is that we now have a secretary of state who is much more likely to echo a common foreign policy with the president rather than constantly being undermined by the commander—in—chief as was the case with rex tillerson. david willis in la. well, let's get more now on the implications of rex tillerson‘s sacking for the potential meeting between donald trump and north korea's kimjong—un. i asked jessica lee,

how is he going to work with mike pompeo? that will be fascinating to watch. i think what is most is the -- d eeply worrying for german politicians at the moment is donald trump's in the words of one syllable today said the reason he got rid of tillerson was because he disagreed with him about iran and the iran nuclear deal. and german politics is very invested in securing and saving that iran nuclear deal. the signal coming out of washington is that the trump administration is going to ditch it. brent: it leaves us wondering if there is anyone left in the inner circle who is going to say no, you have to keep that deal intact. i guess we will find out in the gentlemen, thank you very much. police in britain are investigating a mysterious death of a russian exile in london. counterterrorism police are looking into the incident, but they do not believe it is linked to last week's nerve agent attack on a former russian spy. the body was found in a suburb of southwest london. british media have identified the man as nikolai glushkov. he was a former associate of r

mike pompeo has become a trusted advisor to donald trump. i think the president also trusts gina haspel. she has been giving him his presidential daily briefings. they have developed a relationship. she is well respected inside the cia. the process here is a disaster and it's not surprising. but the outcome i think is a good outcome. >> bret: is there any doubt this is going to be -- the democrats are going to try to use these hearings for a number of different things. but is there any doubt that both of these folks can get through, pompeo and haspel? >> haspel has the bigger problems because of her involvement in the enhanced interrogation technique stuff has more of an uphill battle. from my conversations with people on the hill today, even she will get through with some democratic votes and maybe lose some republican votes. but that she will get through. >> i agree. i think she is going to be made to respond about black sites and enhanced interrogation techniques from a long time ago at her hearing, they will move on. i don't think she wi

with mike, mike pompeo, we have a very similar thought process. i think it is going to go very well. stuart: right now president trump is on his way to california. this is obviously a very big day for politics and for your money. we have this. vice president mike pence, he is a good man, after his christian faith was insulted by "the view" co-host joy behar, she called it a mental illness, he graciously accepted her private apology. on "hannity" last night, he went further. roll that tape. >> i did encourage her, i'm still encouraging her, to use the form of that program or some other public forum to apologize to tens of millions of americans who were equally offended. stuart: he is right. miss behar publicly insulted christians and she should publicly apologize. this puts her and abc news, the parent company, disney, in a bind. what if she refuses to apologize publicly? what would disney's chief, robert iger do then? he is said to have presidential ambitions, insulting christians, oh, that is not a good election strategy. what would abc news do?

mike pompeo is in. as we await for president trump to arrive in california that is happening a short time from now. the president is there, prototype for his border wall. i'm trish regan. welcome to "the intelligence report." president trump parting wayses with rex tillerson today following several disagreements including the iran nuke deal and north korea. president says he needs someone who is on the same page as him. watch. >> mike pompeo, we have a very similar thought process. i think it is going to go real well. we're always on the same wavelength. that is what i need as a secretary of state. trish: as we await rex tillerson i want to bring in former secretary of state robert charles here. let me ask you this, was this the straw that broke the camel's back, in that the president made a decision to meet with kim jong-un on the fly? didn't consult rex tillerson, didn't consult any one at the state department, said, yeah, i will meet with him provided conditions are met? did that contribute to this?

mike pompeo is a former military officer serving the army. graduating first of his class at west point, harvard law and then going on to serve as military veteran. what you say about this new position that he has been asked to do as secretary of state replacing rex tillerson? >> i think he is perfectly suited. creswell he is the presidents trust, secondly as you indicated he was number one in his class at west point. former army, he knows chain of command. which is what you know as an army captain. he also knows international law, he is a lawyer was in the private sector and public sector, ran cia. i think he is the perfect choice. if you think about it for a minute, the presidents trust in

mike pompeo and trump joke. a similar relationship in the way trump had with mike flynn. they just shoot the whatever. i think you'll have a secretary of state that there is no difference between him and the president. and that is going to be the wig e-- biggest difference. pete: thank you for saying whatever. >> mike pompeo knows how to talk to trump. the major task with trump is even when you disagree you kno how to stay say it in a way that doesn't get his back upds. trump to react to people trying to school him or trying to tell himhat to do. it's simply managing your manager. pete: which would the allies rather have, a secretary of state who speaks for the president or someone they find more acceptable? >> i think the first. they can get a message to the president and get message programs in reshaping the thoughts. if they convince rex tillerson of their direction, it meant if thigh convince mike pompeo, it's different. >> it's been portrayed in conflicting ways. on the one hand is this about loyaltynd president tmp wanting someone who blindly reflects his policyrior

mike pompeo has been tapped to replace him. the cia could get its first female director and more changes could be on the way. and breaking overnight, one of world's greatest minds in science has died. stephen hawking has passed apge. >>> good morning, everybody. it is wednesday, march 14, i'm yasmin vossoughian alongside louis burgdorf. we start in pennsylvania with 99% of precincts reporting the special congressional election in the 18th district is way too close to call. we've been waiting on absentee ballots all night. right now conor lamb has a 579 vote edge over republican rick saccone despite the race not being called, lamb declared victory last night while saccone stopped short of any concession. watch this. >> it took a little longer than we thought, but we did it. i've heard conor, the job you're running for is the house of representatives. so if you get down there, do the job. do the job. okay. i will. mission accepted. >> we're still fighting the fight. it is not over yet. we'll fight all the way to the end. don't gi

mike pompeo seems to have wide and vast support. do you expect him to be easy and quick or haskell to be slow and arduous? what's your read on this? >> i talked earlier this week about this confirmation battles that are stacking up in the senate. and the general thinking for now, and obviously the hearings have not happened is and that will determine amount of their prospects. but the thinking right now is that mike pompeo does seem to have an easier shot at being confirmed as secretary of state considering the criticisms we have seen from republicans on gina haskell and questions about her tenure at the cia with those coming from the likes of john mccain and rand paul. however, there is growing concern about pompeo and his ability to be confirmed. obviously, as you know, it's a 51-49 majority in the senate. rand paul is opposed to both nominees. senator mccain has been absent from the hill as he recovers at home from brain cancer treatments. so they are going to need democratic help to get these confirmations through the senate. an

with mike pompeo we have a very similar thought process and i think it will go very well. rex is a very good man and i like him a lot. i really appreciate his commitment and his service and i will be speaking to him over a long period of time. i really didn't discuss it very much with him, honestly. i made that decision by myself. rex wasn't in this country, as you know. i made the north korea decision was consultation from many people, but i made at by myself. i actually got along well with rex, but really it was a different mindset, a different thinking. say it again. i respect his intellect, i respect the process that we have all gone through together, and we have a very good relationship. for whatever reason, chemistry, why don't people get along? i have always right from the beginning, i have got along well with mike pompeo, and frankly i get along well with rex, too. and i wish rex a of good things, i think he is known to be very happy. i think rex will be much happier now, but i really appreciate his service. but with mike, we have had very good chemistry right from

mike pompeo still needs to be confirmed. is there time to get this done to have a new secretary of state before this? time.re is not a lot of bob corker did schedule a hearing next month. mike pompeo already got three senate confirmation. there will be questions about the policies and priorities but heo think pompeo, because just went through this, he should be in a good position to do it again. but not just the north korea meeting is on the plate but a decision about the iran nuclear deal. pompeo was in line with the president's thoughts on that .eal than tillerson that comes up for a key decision early to mid may. rex tillerson was not the only management shuffle. a promotion at the cia. .ina haskell being nominated her background is controversial tortureof her ties to of suspected terrorists. how much of an obstacle is that going to be? >> that is going to make what might be an easy confirmation hearing much harder. you're going to have people like john mccain who has spoken out with concerns about her rendition,in cia th

mike pompeo to replace him. chalking up a major shift in his cabinet to chemistry. >> i got along well with rex, but it was a different mindset. it was a different thinking. >> reporter: pompeo has been a favorite of president trump. briefing him for weeks. >> we're always on the same wavelength. the relationship has been very good and that's what i need as secretary of state. >> reporter: it's a shake-up that's been brewing for months but tillerson seemed to have been blindsided by the president's decision. a senior white house official tells abc that chief of staff john kelly spoke to tillerson friday and notified him being asked to step down. the state department said the secretary did not speak to the president and unaware of the reason. a plan to bring in pompeo to bring in motion last fall after tillerson called the president a moron which he didn't exactly deny. >> i'm not going to deal with petty stuff like that. >> reporter: the iran nuclear deal. north korea. climate and trade. >> we disagree on a coup

the sudden firing of rex tillerson, replaced by cia director mike pompeo, if he is confirmed. an emotional rex tillerson thanked everyone but the president, especially his state department aides. they have been extraordinarily dedicated to our mission, which includes promoting values that i view as being very important, which means treating each other with honesty and integrity and respect for one another. >> reporter: unlike tillerson, cia director mike pompeo, a former kansas congressman, graduate of west point and harvard law gets along famously with the president, having more facetime than almost anyone, delivering the daily intelligence briefing in person. if confirmed, pompeo would give the state department a fresh start. but would he be willing to challenge the volatile commander in chief, something that got tillerson in trouble? >> i am concerned about mike pompeo's hard-line positions on a number of issues, such as on iran, potentially north korea, and so he needs to as secretary of state also stand up to the president. >> reporter: and facing a may deadline on the ir

we don't know how mike pompeo is going to lead. a change this mean for in policy and impact on businesses? jamil: mike pompeo understands technology well. he is in the house committee where he was deleting voice supporting the virus sharing act that should permission from private and public sectors. understands technology. -- itand" is unfortunate is unfortunate politics has taken place with partisan back-and-forth between former cia directors and the president. this is what it is, but i don't think it is about technology. -- the nominated secretary of state for ciber, there are a number of people who understand cyber and tom pao is one of them and gets it and he will do a good job. emily: this president trump understand it and does it matter? jamil: president trump is a ceo of a big company, and i don't know what the president's knowledge of cyber is. he has hired people who understand the issues. minor technology in aggressive way so you have that going for him. you think the relationship between silicon valley and washington wil

day one i have gotten along well with mike pompeo. i have gotten to know a lot of people very well over the last year. i'm really at a point where we are getting very close to having the cabinet and other things that i want. >> the president saying is he getting very close to having the cabinet that he wants which may indicate there are still a couple more changes to come. the time line for awful this, state department officials said rex tillerson was blindsided by all of this. the first indication he had that he would be fired was when he saw the president's tweet just before 9:00 this morning. white house officials say that's not the case at all. that the chief of staff john kelly called tillerson when he was in africa on friday saying the president wanted to make a change and tillerson was going to have to step aside. tillerson, according to a white house official, asked kelly if the president could wait for him to get back on u.s. soil to do it. tillerson arrived back in d.c. about 4:00 a.m. this morning. five hours later, the pre

host: what about mike pompeo? guest: mike pompeo is, i believe, the first cia department -- had to go to the state department. tillerson had a lot of tension with the white house. itselfy have manifested in how quickly and unceremoniously he was fired. he actually had to cut a trip to africa short i one day because they decided to fire him. there is still a bit of debate , but when he was informed the general consensus was he learned about it along with the rest of us, that he was getting fired, on twitter. it sounded like there was not a lot of good personal chemistry between the president and tillerson. mike pompeo i'm on the other hand, has a lot of good -- mike pompeo, on the other hand, has a lot of good personality mix with the president. pompeo, who is equally hawkish on north korea, iran, will be a lot more in lockstep the president, have a better personal chemistry, which i think is important when it comes to the secretary of state. host: what about the ability of either man to push back against the presi

i have always right from the beginning from day one i have gotten along well with mike pompeo. and frankly i get along well with rex, too. you know, i wish rex a lot of good things. i think he's going to do -- i think he is going to be very happy. >> the president does spend an awful lot of quality time with mike pompeo as cia director he is over at the white house very frequently giving the president his daily brief on the greater intelligence briefing. the president loves his pedigree. first in his class at west point. served in uranium during the cold war. then he went to harvard law school. he is a businessman. four term congressman from kansas. you know, he checks a lot of boxes there that the president really likes. and here's the reason, shep, why the timing of all of this now. a lot of it had to do with that announcement last thursday when the south koreans came out that kim jong un wanted to meet with the president and the white house said the president would meet with him. the president wanted to get a new state department team in place for what might be a meeting wit