A distinguished U.S. diplomat who was seen as a rising star at the State Department resigned after writing a searing letter to Secretary Of State Rex Tillerson, accusing him of gutting the department and damaging America’s standing across the world. “The cost of this is visible every day in Mission Somalia, my current post, where State’s diplomatic influence, on the country and within our own interagency, is waning,” Shackelford wrote. Tillerson, who has still has not denied having called Trump a “moron” in private earlier this year, has been the subject of a raft of rumors that his time at the State Department will be short-lived. The White House last month reportedly floated a plan about replacing Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo in order to help push out the secretary of state. Tillerson has defended the job he has done and said the department has been in need of a “redesign” to simplify its workforce.

Source: Huffington Post December 10, 2017 15:22 UTC