Why Rex Tillerson Could Go Down as 'Worst Secretary of State in History'
Less than a year into the job, many experts already call Rex Tillerson one of the worst secretaries of state of all time — if not the worst.
The former Exxon/Mobil CEO has little influence over President Donald Trump and other White House officials, and he has shrunk the State Department by forcing out longtime employees and neglecting to replace them, reported Vox.
“Tillerson would be at or near the bottom of the list of secretaries of state, not just in the post-Second World War world but in the record of US secretaries of state,” said Paul Musgrave, a foreign policy scholar at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “He took the job and made it smaller.”
His efforts at “reform” will likely weaken the State Department for a generation, according to George Washington University’s Elizabeth Saunders.
Tillerson has been rumored to be on his way out almost since the moment his wife talked him into taking the job, and Trump reportedly likes United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley as his replacement.
Jared Kusher, the president’s son-in-law, plays an unofficial but influential role in setting diplomatic policy, further eroding Tillerson’s authority.
“I think he really will go down as one of the worst secretaries of State we’ve had,” said Eliot Cohen, counselor to the State Department under President George W. Bush.
Ilan Goldenberg, who specialized in Israel-Palestine issues for the State Department under President Barack Obama, said Tillerson has already cemented his place in history.
“He will go down as the worst secretary of state in history,” Goldenberg said.
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