State Department Scrubs Rex Tillerson From Website, Then Brings Back His Biography

Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was virtually erased from the State Department website after his firing took effect this weekend, with pages being rerouted to a statement from Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan.

Tillerson’s entire history had been scrubbed from the site, including his biography as the 69th secretary of the department, which the Associated Press reported on Sunday was brought back after the agency was notified of the apparent error.

Tillerson’s termination became official on Saturday, though President Donald Trump announced he was ousted from the department on Twitter in mid-March. The former secretary said he had not spoken with the president before the tweet, and reportedly fought to maintain his job at the head of the department.

Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2018

Meanwhile, a similar story is arising out of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin’s firing earlier this week. The White House told Politico on Saturday he “resigned” from his post — a statement he later refuted on multiple news outlets, saying he even had a meeting scheduled with Trump the day after the commander in chief announced his firing on Twitter.

[image via screengrab]

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