Pompeos post as cia director has been promised to the deputy cia director gina haspel. Before heading to california, the president spoke about his reasons for this very dramatic change. Rex and i have been talking about this for a long time. We got along actually quite well, but we disagreed on things. When you look at the iran deal, i think its terrible. I guess he thought it was okay. I wanted to either break it or do something, and he felt a little bit differently. So we were not really thinking the same. With mike, mike pompeo, we have a very similar thought process. I think its going to go very well. Rex is a very goodm man. I like rex a lot. I really appreciate his commitment to his service, and i will be speaking to rex over a long period of time. Lets go to our senior White House Correspondent jeff zeleny. Jeff, do we know when the president made this decision of what the white house is now saying about how secretary tillerson was actually informed . Reporter well, just to walk you through a bit of the timeline here, the secretary of state landed at joint base andrews just outside washington around 4 00 a. M. He was in africa for more than a week. Less than five hours later, about four and a half hours later or so, this news was announced on twitter. We do know that the secretary of state was informed by white house chief of staff john kelly last friday into saturday. He was in africa. That the president had made a decision tro relieve him of his duties but did not say when that would happen. So employees here at the white house were surprised when the president made the announcement of the timing here, certainly no surprise that bad blood between the two had boiled over. It had been simmering, they were not on the same page here, but certainly a surprise to the state department that this happened at this moment. Wolf, we also heard the president Say Something else this morning on the south lawn as he flew to california. This could be very important. Take a listen. And im really at a point where were getting very close to having the cabinet and other things that i want. Saying they were getting close to having the cabinet and other changes that i want, wolf, certainly signals that the staff changes and shakeup here at the west wing at the white house are not finished yet. Several other people potentially may leave in the coming days or weeks. The top person we have we have our eye on potentially is a National Security adviser, general h. R. Mcmaster, who has been the subject of discussions is he going to stay. Of course, the white house says the president still has confidence in him. Wolf, thats exactly what they said about the secretary of state. Until he didnt. Yep, and that went relatively quickly, relatively, i should say, a year and two months into this administration. Jeff zeleny, thanks very much. Rex tillerson didnt get the reality tv moment of hearing President Trump say, youre fired since he learned about the decision through a tweet. The president said he got along well with tillerson but he also says he and mike pompeo are always on the same wavelength. Lets bring in our senior diplomat laura kozinski. Shes at the state department. Laura, has the president spoken to Rex Tillerson today about the decision to fire him . Reporter as far as we know, he has not, but most of our information has come from tillersons top people. His undersecretary for Diplomacy AffairsStephen Goldstein who told us that not only had the president not spoken to Rex Tillerson but that tillerson was unaware of why he was fired and had every intention of staying on. Shortly after that, we got word that goldstein himself now has been fired by the white house. Speaking to him since then, though, he says that he stands by what he says happened in this, that tillerson got a call from white house chief of staff kelly on friday, indicating that there was something coming, that there was a change brewing, that there would likely be a tweet. But tillerson, according to goldstein, said that it wasnt really definitive that he was going to be losing his job and then it did indeed come as a surprise today via that tweet. When i asked goldstein, well, do you think, then, that the white house isnt quite telling the truth about the timeline . He says he only knows what tillerson told him and that tillerson said the fact he was losing his job today was entirely a surprise this morning, wolf. It was a dramatic moment, indeed. The firing of Rex Tillerson comes as the president is getting ready to meet with the north Korean Leader kim jongun. Tillerson was a little cautious about that, i assume. Listen to this. I really didnt discuss it very much with him, honestly. I made that decision by myself. Rex wasnt, as you know, in this country. I made the north korea decision with consultation from many people, but i made that decision by myself. He said he totally disagreed he said he totally disagreed with tillerson when it came to the Iran Nuclear Deal, but go ahead. There have been so many disagreements, so many public undercuttings of tillerson. But the timing of this is just after the president , as he said himself, made that decision to meet face to face with kim jongun now in the near term. And only hours earlier, tillers tillerson, while he was traveling, said first of all we have to have talks to see if we even can enter negotiations. Seemingly the complete opposite of what the party wanted. After that the state department said, no, tillerson was deeply involved, he spoke to the president twice. Bt coming from the white house via chief of staff, that decision was made shortly after the president s decision to speak to kim jongun. You know, wolf, this has been brewing for some time. So the fact that tillerson is out is in no way a surprise to this building. The writing was on the wall for months, but it seemed as if they had reached some kind of detante among themselves that, at the very least, when tillerson leaves eventually he will go out on his own terms. Thats why this is so stunning, that even he didnt see, at the very least, this timing coming, wolf. The president himself deciding that he would not even personally notify his secretary of state. Pick up the phone and call him and tell him, in effect, youre fired. That was another element. Laura kozinski at the state department, thank you very much. Much more on the breaking news on the cabinet shuffle here in washington. Coming up theres other breaking news were following. Word just coming in of a russian who was a critic of Vladimir Putin found dead in his home in london. Our Senior International correspondent nic payton walsh is joining us from london right now. Nic, what can you tell us . Reporter i proceed with a note of caution here, wolf, because its very early days here. We understand from his lawyer speaking at the Russian Media was it is mthe man who the metrn police said was found dead at his home just south of london in new malden last night at about 10 00. The time of death is not given at this particular point, but the police behind me say theyve put the Counterterrorism Police in charge of the investigation, i think fear that is gripping london because of the deaths of fill appear and yulia skripal. They say there is no evidence of foul play, philip skripal, a man who has had Health Problems in his past, is showing up dead in his home. Mr. Skripal was an associate of what you call an oligarch, a very rich businessman who himself was kind of a king maker in the 90s. Many say responsible, in fact, for part of Vladimir Putins rush. The kremlin moved to london and the series of Corruption Cases launched by his thenenemies in the kremlin followed him here, also followed mr. Glushkov. There were accusations he had embezzled billions of dollars from an airline. He did various time in russia on various charges and finds himself here in the United Kingdom. It remains a key notion because we dont know at this time of cause of death or if any foul play is found at all, then it raises serious questions. The interrogation unit taking over the investigation of this death. Stand by for a moment. Fred pleitgen is joining us from moscow. Fred, what are you picking up from over there . Reporter its interesting, wolf, because a lot of the outlets have piblcked up on thi immediately. What we have from the russians is pretty much factual reporting. Theyre saying this man has been found dead. The media on confirming this. There is speculation of what exactly the cause of death could be. Thats something theyll be looking very closely at, authorities as well, to see if there will be any more speculation on that. Nic is right. This comes at a very sensitive time after the poisoning of skripal and alexander fanenko who was poisoned. He said, look, i might be the next one. He referred to himself as the last man standing at one point. Certainly this was someone very critical of moscow, someone who had a falling out with the powers that be here and someone who very much believed his life was in danger. It will be very interesting to see the next couple hours whether there will be an official statement. This is going to cause more issues between russia and the United Kingdom as things are so fired up between these two countries. Wolf, i have to tell you today, theyve become very defensive about the skripal case. Well wait to see what comes of this, wolf. Lets bring in our panel to assess this and all the breaking news here in washington. Lisa lav in is with us. He was the deputy secretary of state during the Obama Administration and our chief analyst Gloria Borger is with us. Tony blinken, this is very disturbing, this death in london today, this russian emigre, whats been going on in salisbury, england. If youre putin, its not very good for your health. There is a long list, and growing list, of putin who left russia and wound up dead, including in the United States. Whats most press sg this case we do know about, involving the death of dairk the poisoning of mr. Skripal. And his daughter yulia. And his daughter. Theres a deadline tomorrow. Theresa may has said she wants to find out from the russians tomorrow about what has happened. And you just heard secretary of state Rex Tillerson the other day going faurter thurther thane house has gone, saying this is very troubling, putting the blame solely on moscow and saying there needs to be more investigation about it. That may have been dangerous to his political health. They disagreed on a lot of issues, this being one of them. Tillerson was much more forceful in condemning the russians than, for example, the president. Well, the president s press secretary did not come out and refused after she was asked repeated times to come out and say, do you believe as the british do that the russians did this, and she did not. Everybody stick around. Theres lots of breaking news unfolding as we speak. President trump firing his secretary of state Rex Tillerson. Much more on that when we come back. You finally fix that chair . You know it woah laughter hahahaaaaahhhh gorilla glue. Of course. Gorilla glue expands into the materials to form an incredibly strong bond. For the toughest jobs on planet earth. Theres a breaking news that were following. Rex tillerson, the secretary of state, has been fired by the president. Theres been a lot of reaction coming in from capitol hill. Listen to this. Were going to get that sound in a moment, but right now lets bring in maryland senator ben cardin. Hes on the Senate Relations committee. Ben, thanks for joining us. Nice to join you. Its certainly been a day of surprises. Your committee as oversight over the department of the secretary of state. Were you given a headsup on this by the white house . None whatsoever. We heard no advance notice whatsoever. I understand no one on our committee was informed of this and we read about it through a tweet from the president. What did you think of the president s decision to fire tillerson . Its very concerning. It looks like the president doesnt want anyone in the room that disagrees with him, doesnt want to hear independent advice, doesnt want to get objective accounts from the state department. Its very concerning. We have major issues concerning north korea negotiations, the iran nuclear agreement, and now we have a secretary of state who voiced his recommendations based upon the experts in the state department being canned because he disagreed with the president. He apparently disagreed with the president on several sensitive issues. The president himself earlier today said he disagreed with tillerson on the Iran Nuclear Deal which, as you know the president hates. Tillerson wanted to keep it going. Does this suggest to you that the president will now move quick toll chanly to change or that Iran Nuclear Deal . We certainly hope thats not the case. Iran should not be violated from the agreement. There are steps taken with the United States and congress involved to make sure we make it clear that iran can never have another nuclear weapon. Lets work with our allies. Lets keep iran in compliance with this agreement so they dont become a Nuclear Weapons state, and iran shouldnt be the one to violate this agreement. But if the president has disagreement issues with his secretary of state on the iran deal, tariffs being imposed on certain countries, immigration, whats wrong with the president saying, you know what . Youre fired. Secretary tillerson and i disagreed on many issues but i respect his professionalism. The president will make the ultimate decisions. Thats his responsibility. But he needs to have the advice of experts from the state department. And mr. Tillerson was representing the professionals in the field to let the president know the consequences of his actions. It would be irresponsible for a president to act without getting that independent advice. Mr. Tillersons credibility was clear and the president didnt want that. The president has chosen the cia director mike pompeo to take over as the secretary of state. The Committee Chairman, your Committee Chairman bob corker says the first hearing on pompeos nomination, his confirmation hearing, will take place next month. As far as i remember, you voted against his cia confirmation, pompeos confirmation as cia director. Do you have reservations about him becoming secretary of the state . I voted against his position on the cia because of his belief on immigration rights. I want to know mr. Pompeos interest in representing American Values through diplomacy, good government, anticorruption. I want to know where he stands on rebuilding the state department with the expertise it needs, filling critical conditions, and yes, standing up in the white house telling the president what he needs to hear. There will be questions i will be asking during the confirmation process. So right now youre undecided, is that right . Thats right, i always allow the confirmation process to go forward. I believe in the confirmation process. Lets see the answers to his questions and see how he does in the confirmation process. What does it mean for the president s proposed talks for the north Korean Leader kim jongun in the next two months . Its not only the absence of a secretary of state, we now have the absence of an ambassador in correspokorea. The president will not have the type of talent he should have around him as he enters into these negotiations. I dont think it bodes well for these talks. Who do you blame for that hal l lowing out of the state department, all those diplomats being fired over the last year. Do you blame the president or secretary of state, rex tillers tillerson . I blame the president of the United States. I think this is a responsibility by the president in the oval office for failing to fund the state department. It needs to be funded. I think that message is loud and clear by the people who devote their life to Public Service and diplomacy. But if you talk to the Foreign Service office, they say tillerson didnt have the guts to stand up to the president and allow this to take place. I agree secretary tillerson was not effective in standing up to the president in regards to the states budget and having the resources it needs to carry out its mission. Tillerson was not firm on that. I had disagreements with secretary tillerson, but i think in how he handled information in order to make decisions is really a problem. Let me get your quick thought on another breaking story were following. I assume youve been briefed by whats going on in the United Kingdom, the poisoning of this russian double agent. Now other critic of president putin was found dead today in his london home. What can you tell us about that . This is part of putins playbook. I authored in january what we talked about in previous shows about russias engagement in the United States. Our 2016 elections were just part of that. He has authorized killings of his opponents. Weve seen it happen in russia, weve seen it happen in europe, so this is out of his playbook. I applaud Prime Minister mays ultimatum to mr. Putin that she has to have satisfactory results by tomorrow in regards to what russia did in the u. K. Its a violation of sovereignty, its a violation of international norms. Senator cardin, thanks for joining us. Thank you. Coming up, the revolving door at the white house. Top officials in the Trump Administration leaving in the last few weeks. Well take a look at