Evening Edition: Trump ousts Tillerson, taps Pompeo for secretary of state

Nominees for secretary of state, CIA director face likely Senate backlash; Rex Tillerson's full statement at State Department

Democracy Dies in Darkness     The day's most important stories   Trump ousts Tillerson, taps Pompeo for secretary of state President Trump said he had been considering removing Rex Tillerson for "a long time" because they disagreed in key areas of foreign policy, such as the Iran nuclear deal, the approach to North Korea and the tone of U.S. diplomacy. In an appearance before reporters, his voice quivering, Tillerson thanked career diplomats and the American people for the opportunity to serve but notably did not praise Trump. By Ashley Parker, Philip Rucker, John Hudson and Carol D. Leonnig  •  Read more » Nominees for secretary of state, CIA director face likely Senate backlash The criticism will mostly be fueled by partisan anger about how President Trump fired Tillerson, who was viewed as one of the few Cabinet members willing to stand up to the president. But it is not expected to keep Pompeo or Haspel from being confirmed. By Karoun Demirjian, Seung Min Kim and Mike DeBonis  •  Read more » Rex Tillerson's full statement at State Department Outgoing secretary of state Rex Tillerson spoke to reporters at the State Department March 13. Here is his full statement. Read more »   In the end, no one was more surprised that Tillerson was fired than Tillerson The secretary of state had a rocky first year, frequently undercut by the president he disagreed with on key foreign policy issues and derided by many of his employees. But his ouster comes just as Tillerson seemed to be hitting his diplomatic stride. By Anne Gearan and Carol Morello  •  Read more »   North Korea, Iran, the Middle East: Pompeo will face a host of challenges if confirmed Rex Tillerson has been deeply involved in all of those issues while operating with a skeleton staff that is expected to dwindle even more with his departure. By Karen DeYoung  •  Read more »   CIA nominee Gina Haspel is tied to use of brutal interrogation measures Gina Haspel was in charge of a "black site" where detainees were subjected to waterboarding. By Greg Miller and Shane Harris  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT In Pennsylvania's Trump country, a surging Democrat takes House race down to the wire Conor Lamb's strength in the race underscored the political challenges facing the GOP this year, and Republicans were openly fretting that Lamb might defeat their candidate, Rick Saccone. Polls close at 8 p.m. Eastern time. By David Weigel and Elise Viebeck  •  Read more »   Analysis The district in play will be split in four come November. But today's election still matters. The winner of today's contest won't get to vote on much before the district disappears this fall. But the race still means a lot because of what it portends for both parties later this year. By Kevin Uhrmacher and Reuben Fischer-Baum  •  Read more »   Roger Stone claimed contact with WikiLeaks's founder in 2016, two associates say Investigators for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III recently asked former Trump adviser Sam Nunberg to describe his conversation with Stone. By Tom Hamburger, Josh Dawsey, Carol D. Leonnig and Shane Harris  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT Trump fires White House personal assistant John McEntee, who promptly rejoins president's campaign McEntee, who had been with the president since early in his campaign, becomes the latest in a series of West Wing departures in recent weeks. By David Nakamura and Josh Dawsey  •  Read more »   Turkey encircles Kurdish-held city in Syria, escalating offensive While much of the territory taken so far has been sparsely populated, the city of Afrin is a dense urban environment, and rights groups point to the potential for high civilian casualties if the battle reaches residential areas. By Erin Cunningham and Heba Habib  •  Read more »   Austin police search for bombing motive, say explosives made with 'skill and sophistication' Authorities said packages that have exploded at three homes and left two dead appear to be related. By Mark Berman and Matt Zapotosky  •  Read more »   Stormy Daniels friend describes listening in on her phone calls with Trump A close friend of the porn actress is confirming her affair with Donald Trump more than a decade ago. By Beth Reinhard and Rob Kuznia  •  Read more »   ICE spokesman resigns, citing 'false' statements by agency chief, Sessions on immigrant arrests James Schwab, who worked as a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said he stepped down after top officials criticized Oakland's mayor for tipping off immigrants about an ICE raid. By Meagan Flynn and Avi Selk  •  Read more »           Share Evening Edition:    Twitter     Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for Evening Edition or because it is included in your subscription. Manage my email newsletters and alerts | Unsubscribe from Evening Edition Privacy Policy | Help ©2018 The Washington Post  |  1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071