11/15/2017

CIA/INTELLIGENCE/MIKE POMPEO/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump has turned his daily intelligence briefing — a routine that in previous administrations has been a dry, formal affair — into a free-flowing conversation during which he peppers his CIA director, former House member Mike Pompeo, with questions about everything from national security threats to the internal dynamics of Congress…
The CIA director’s favored status in the West Wing has made him the odds-on choice to succeed Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, according to more than half a dozen administration officials and outside advisers familiar with the White House’s current plans. It’s not clear when Tillerson might leave — he has vigorously denied rumors that he plans to resign anytime soon — but Pompeo has told associates that he expects the president to tap him for the position and that he’d accept the job if it’s offered to him…
A White House spokesman said Trump has no personnel announcements to make and that the president’s relationship with Tillerson remains strong.”

-Eliana Johnson and Annie Karni, “Pompeo emerges as favorite to succeed Tillerson,” Politico, Nov. 15, 2017 07:25am