Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) said Tuesday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was repeatedly “undercut” by President Trump.
In a series of tweets, Dent — who announced last year he would not seek reelection in 2018 — offered praise for Tillerson, who was ousted as secretary of State.
“Unfortunately, the departure of Sec. Rex Tillerson adds to the chaos & turmoil of this Administration. Tillerson is a good man who was dealt a bad hand & he did not play it particularly well,” tweeted Dent, who has in the past been critical of Trump. {mosads}
“He was routinely undercut by POTUS & was unable to hire key personnel because so many of the Republican foreign policy & national security experts were disqualified for past comments re: Candidate Trump.”
Dent also congratulated CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who was nominated to replace Tillerson at the State Department.
“Having served with Mike in the House, I know he’ll be a strong & capable diplomat,” he tweeted. “I look forward to working with Mike to continue to advance American interests across the globe.”
President Trump on Tuesday told reporters that he made the decision to oust Tillerson “by myself.”
“I actually got along great with Rex, but really, it was a different mindset,” Trump said from the White House.
Trump and Tillerson had repeatedly clashed, most famously after reports that Tillerson has called Trump a moron in private.