Mattis calls Tillerson firing a 'Washington D.C. story'

By Phil Stewart

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (L) and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis take seats before the opening session of the inaugural U.S.-Qatar Strategic Dialogue at the State Department in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Thursday that Rex Tillerson's firing as U.S. secretary of state did not come up during his talks overseas this week, describing interest in the issue as largely a "Washington, D.C., story.”

 

In his first public remarks on the matter since President Donald Trump announced Tillerson's dismissal on Tuesday, Mattis, who had forged a close working relationship with Tillerson, said allies understood that ties with the United States were deeper than with any one individual.

 

"This issue has not even come up, other than with you all(in the media) – and I understand why you're asking," Mattis told reporters as he flew back to Washington from the Gulf nation of Bahrain. He had also travelled to Afghanistan since Tillerson’s firing.

 

"But I'm just pointing out that in most parts of the world, this is a Washington, D.C., story."

 

Reuters has reported that differences over how to deal with North Korea's nuclear challenge were a key factor in Trump's decision to replace Tillerson as America's top diplomat. Trump nominated Mike Pompeo, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, to take the job.

 

Mattis had made no secret of his strong rapport with Tillerson, saying in January that the two had breakfast every week together and communicated frequently - sometimes two or three times a day.

 

The goal was to hammer out a consensus on key issues before addressing them to the White House.

 

"We settle all of our issues between he and I, and then we walk together into the White House meetings. That way, State and Defense are together," Mattis said at the time.

 

It was unclear whether Mattis, a retired Marine general, would be able to forge as strong a relationship with Pompeo.

 

Mattis declined to comment on when he learned of Tillerson's dismissal and did not offer any personal thoughts about it, other than to say it was not discussed in his past two days of conversations with Bahrain's leaders and NATO's envoy to Afghanistan and multiple town hall-style gatherings with U.S. troops.

 

"The durability of our relations with these countries, with the United States having very strong institutions, go beyond personalities," Mattis said.

 

Mattis suggested that cooperation with allies was unshaken by the dismissal.

 

"It's not about whether or not the United States is still an ally to the countries I've been in or the countries I've been talking to," Mattis said.

 

"I've signed letters while I've been out here, the normal coordination. ... The work goes on."

 

(Reorting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-03-16

Fair enough, government business does grind on. 

 

But he's being a bit disingenuous in downplaying the broader context, which resembles a dysfunctional game of musical chairs.  Foreign leaders and contemporaries he meets with abroad likely avoid the subject because it's so unreal, and embarrassing.

 

As superficial as they may be, representing the government abroad is about establishing relationships, rapport and consistency for the next 4 to 8 years.  Constant upheaval isn't good for business.

Edited March 16, 20188 yr by 55Jay

Tiny DT. The art of moving America backwards, and lowering the quality of life for the average American. 

The art of I cannot make a deal to save my life. The art of being a beacon of darkness, for the world to see. 

The art of losing talent in droves, and replacing them with sycophantic fools, devoid of talent or experience. Like The appointment of Lynne Patton, a wedding planner and longtime Trump family associate, to head the Housing and Urban Development's office for New York and New Jersey, and the talk show host that he just appointed as a chief economic advisor, because he talk smooth and looks good on TV. Good one Don.

 

The art of not being able to fill vacancies, and leading a nation, without the help of key appointees. The Trump administration will usher in the second quarter of its presidential term with hundreds of vacancies still left to fill in departments throughout the administration. According to the Washington Post and Partnership for Public Service, only 241 key positions requiring Senate confirmation — out of 633 — have been confirmed as of Jan. 18, with 244 positions still without a nominee. The 633 key positions are a small portion of over 1,200 total positions requiring Senate confirmation, the Post noted. Trump’s sluggish staffing stands in stark contrast to his predecessors. According to the Post, Trump had 301 total confirmed nominees by Jan. 18, as compared with 452 confirmations by former President Barack Obama, 493 by George W. Bush and 471 by Bill Clinton at the same point in their terms. 

17 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

According to the Washington Post and Partnership for Public Service, only 241 key positions requiring Senate confirmation — out of 633 — have been confirmed as of Jan. 18, with 244 positions still without a nominee. The 633 key positions are a small portion of over 1,200 total positions requiring Senate confirmation, the Post noted.

i would not be disappointed if many of these positions were never filled or just eliminated.  fewer staff would make things much simpler.

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Thursday that Rex Tillerson's firing as U.S. secretary of state did not come up during his talks overseas this week, describing interest in the issue as largely a "Washington, D.C., story.”

 

Not even sure what the heck he means? The firing of the top U.S. diplomat after ~ 14 months would be a global story, in a normal Presidency.

 

My guess: Other countries have learned to expect the unusual and hence not even bat an eye with Mattis.

 

Not sure this is a good thing?

1 hour ago, buick said:

i would not be disappointed if many of these positions were never filled or just eliminated.  fewer staff would make things much simpler.

There are already backlogs happening because no positions are filled. If it was that simple that fewer staff would make things much simpler.

50 minutes ago, mike324 said:

There are already backlogs happening because no positions are filled. If it was that simple that fewer staff would make things much simpler.

i'd say the US government has had a backlog for two decades and hasn't really made a dent in it.  maybe with fewer people involved, it would be easier to prioritize and take care of the various tasks at hand. 

Looking forward to the final collapse of the Trump House of Cards. A slap in the face to the country and a grotesque circus never before seen in America. Jail terms all around is what I am hoping for, but I expect to be disappointed.

Edited March 16, 20188 yr by Jools

7 hours ago, buick said:

i'd say the US government has had a backlog for two decades and hasn't really made a dent in it.  maybe with fewer people involved, it would be easier to prioritize and take care of the various tasks at hand. 

Maybe the larger problem is that the government has its fingers in too many pies.  Local governments can't even run without big brother being in the mix with federal funding.  Might be much better if state and local governments collected taxes for their own needs instead of depending on the federal government for handouts always with strings attached. 

16 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Tiny DT. The art of moving America backwards, and lowering the quality of life for the average American. 

The art of I cannot make a deal to save my life. The art of being a beacon of darkness, for the world to see. 

The art of losing talent in droves, and replacing them with sycophantic fools, devoid of talent or experience. Like The appointment of Lynne Patton, a wedding planner and longtime Trump family associate, to head the Housing and Urban Development's office for New York and New Jersey, and the talk show host that he just appointed as a chief economic advisor, because he talk smooth and looks good on TV. Good one Don.

 

The art of not being able to fill vacancies, and leading a nation, without the help of key appointees. The Trump administration will usher in the second quarter of its presidential term with hundreds of vacancies still left to fill in departments throughout the administration. According to the Washington Post and Partnership for Public Service, only 241 key positions requiring Senate confirmation — out of 633 — have been confirmed as of Jan. 18, with 244 positions still without a nominee. The 633 key positions are a small portion of over 1,200 total positions requiring Senate confirmation, the Post noted. Trump’s sluggish staffing stands in stark contrast to his predecessors. According to the Post, Trump had 301 total confirmed nominees by Jan. 18, as compared with 452 confirmations by former President Barack Obama, 493 by George W. Bush and 471 by Bill Clinton at the same point in their terms. 

You on the Marxist left would never be happy with anything DT does because he had the audacity to run and win the election for POTUS making you and your other Marxist buddies irrelevant. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

41 minutes ago, howbri said:

You on the Marxist left would never be happy with anything DT does because he had the audacity to run and win the election for POTUS making you and your other Marxist buddies irrelevant. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Obviously no understanding whatsoever of Marxist ideology

2 hours ago, howbri said:

You on the Marxist left would never be happy with anything DT does because he had the audacity to run and win the election for POTUS making you and your other Marxist buddies irrelevant. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Notice how any critique of Tiny Don is always responded to, with the inclusion of a leftist insult? I am not a leftist. I am a centrist. A moderate democrat. And I despise Marxism, and communism. It would be easy for me to call your Master a fascist. But, why resort to such extreme tactics? Why call him out, at this time? 

 

Unlike many of my liberal friends, I believe in the death penalty (love it actually), and I am opposed to anything other than a first term abortion ( I think abortion is a beautiful thing, and is incredibly effective in controlling the world's population, as long as the parents do not want the child, and it is first term). 

 

However, I think you would consider me a leftist, as I am concerned about protecting the environment, I think the common man should be taken into account by government, and not despised because he is not a millionaire, and I believe in climate change. How radical! 

 

It is not about his running and winning that has upset alot of us. Though he did lose the popular vote by over 2,000,000 people, despite running against the worst candidate the democratic party has fielded since Michael Dukakis. It is about his gross level of incompetency, his unwillingness to listen to voices of reason, and to refusal to read his daily briefings. His hubris, his arrogance, his ignorance, his hatred, his racism, his division, and his extreme lack of talent. He is dangerous. He makes the world a more dangerous place.

 

But, I am not worried. He will be a lame duck as of November. And a second term is going to be virtually impossible. I am thankful for small blessings.

Edited March 17, 20188 yr by spidermike007

Well, Republicans do believe in smaller government. 

 

On 3/17/2018 at 9:42 AM, spidermike007 said:

 But, I am not worried. He will be a lame duck as of November. And a second term is going to be virtually impossible. I am thankful for small blessings.

 

Which is exactly what most people were saying about his first term, although they may have said "absolutely impossible" rather than "virtually impossible" and even made stupid promises to leave the country if he won. LOL.