Donald Trump sacks US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

US President Donald Trump has sacked his Secretary of State and replaced him with CIA director Mike Pompeo ahead of planned talks with North Korea

Rex Tillerson joins the ever-growing list of people who no longer form part of Donald Trump’s team in Washington.

The US President thanked Tillerson for his service on Twitter, adding the new state secretary would do “a fantastic job”.

According to the Washington Post, Trump asked Tillerson to step aside last Friday and the US’s top diplomat had to cut short a trip to Africa.

Tillerson, who formerly headed oil company ExxonMobil, was appointed to the job 14 months ago but has had major disagreements with the President over foreign policy, including Iran and North Korea.

Trump is expected to nominate CIA Director Mike Pompeo to the post. The change comes at a delicate juncture as the US prepares for delicate negotiations with North Korea.

Gina Haspel, the deputy director at the CIA, will succeed Pompeo to become the first woman to run the spy agency.