Trump fires Rex Tillerson, names CIA chief as successor

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the departure of his top diplomat Rex Tillerson, to be succeeded by the current CIA chief Mike Pompeo.

The move represents the biggest shakeup of the Trump cabinet so far and had been expected since last October when reports surfaced about a falling out between Trump and Tillerson, 65.

"Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job!" Trump tweeted.

"Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service!" he added.

The US president announced the appointment of Gina Haspel to head the Central Intelligence Agency - the first woman tapped for the post. However, her record as a supporter of controversial interrogation techniques is sure to stir up controversry.

Trump wanted to change up his cabinet team before launching high-stakes negotiations with North Korea, a senior US official said Tuesday.

"The President wanted to make sure to have his new team in place in advance of the upcoming talks with North Korea," the official said.

Trump had publicly undercut Tillerson's diplomatic initiatives numerous times, including on Monday when the former secretary of state's comments about Russia appeared to be at odds with those of the White House.

He also appeared out of the loop last week when Trump announced he would meet with North Korea's leader, becoming the first sitting US president to do so.

Tillerson spearheaded mediation efforts to resolve the Saudi Arabia-led blockade on Qatar, the worst dispute to hit the Gulf since the formation of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in 1981.

The mediation attempts followed Trump's initial support for Saudi Arabia in isolating Qatar.