Posted: 2:50 am ET
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CNN reported late on March 13 that Tillerson’s chief of staff, Margaret Peterlin, and deputy chief of staff, Christine Ciccone, also submitted their resignations on Tuesday, according to two senior State Department officials. Both are expected to serve until Tillerson leaves on March 31.
We wrote about Tillerson’s inner circle at State last June, see Rex Tillerson’s Inner Circle Photo Album, Say Cheese Con Quezo!
Politico’ Nahal Toosi also reported these departures on March 14 and notes that “Many State staffers say the two were widely disliked for severely limiting access to the secretary, sidelining career diplomats and slowing down an already cumbersome decision-making process.” And that’s not an exhaustive list.
We’d like to know what happens to the staffers that Tillerson’s aides brought with them to Foggy Bottom now that they’re leaving. Are they leaving, too? Any personnel conversions to Civil Service or conversions to special government service (SGEs)? Curious minds would like to know.
Chief of staff Margaret Peterlin watches Tillerson from the wings pic.twitter.com/y6qEfVGX1M
— Josh Lederman (@joshledermanAP) March 13, 2018
Top Tillerson aides resign amid State Department shuffle https://t.co/VfQTMZiUbO pic.twitter.com/2F0tCWhQQQ
— POLITICO (@politico) March 14, 2018
No love lost for Tillerson's chief of staff & other aides. One State Dept. official tells me: “I think the record will show it wasn’t Rex who got himself fired. It was the echelon of inept and obstructionist staff he came with who got him fired.” https://t.co/Lf5BlAoiTQ
— Robbie Gramer (@RobbieGramer) March 13, 2018
Peterlin was a controversial figure at State. Some officials blame her for some of the personnel and procedural chaos at State during the redesign
— Robbie Gramer (@RobbieGramer) March 13, 2018
With Tillerson's team dropping like flies, the big unknown is Brian Hook and his 15-person team at Policy Planning. “Everyone wants to know what will happen to Hook,” one official said. https://t.co/2qdKfCCdLD pic.twitter.com/Ix57NXv3cB
— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) March 14, 2018
State Dept announces Policy Planning chief Brian Hook will go to Vienna for an Iran deal meeting March 16. Hook, who was basically Tillerson's policy brain, cultivated good ties with the White House and is expected to survive his ouster.
— Nicholas Wadhams (@nwadhams) March 14, 2018
Not sure how long Hook is able to stay but S/P needs to return to its original role, and Pompeo needs a strong career "P" to support him. https://t.co/sQGoudb9vh
— Diplopundit (@Diplopundit) March 14, 2018
U.S. @StateDept Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of State Brian Hook discussed the importance of the #IndoPacific region and U.S. policy toward Asia. Read the transcript here: https://t.co/7ItY6sgZxn #AsiaPacificMediaHub #peace #stability #prosperity pic.twitter.com/qpo4guPHjp
— US EAP Media Hub (@eAsiaMediaHub) January 20, 2018
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