President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he would replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo in a move that could shift the balance of power in his inner circle in a dangerously hawkish direction.
Tillerson, during his time as secretary of state, played an important role in defining Trump's emerging foreign policy by acknowledging political realities and giving up on some of the US's more high-minded ideas like human rights advocacy when it gets in the way of strategic goals.
Importantly, Tillerson was reported to be one of the members of Trump's innermost circle
cautioning the president against striking North Korea, while Pompeo has taken a hawkish line against Pyongyang.
Pompeo, as head of the CIA, has said that his organization assessed that North Korea didn't just want nuclear weapons to deter a US attack, but
to coerce its neighbors, and that it could export nuclear weapons or sensitive technologies to other states.
Rather than petition Trump either way when it comes to military action against North Korea, Pompeo said his role was to simply provide informed options to the president. As secretary of state, Pompeo may move towards advising the president, as Tillerson was seen as pushing back on the idea of a strike.