A top aide to former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired Tuesday, shortly after his boss was let go by President Donald Trump. The aide, Steve Goldstein, was reportedly fired for contradicting the White House's—and Trump's—story about how Tillerson was let go.
According to CNN, Goldstein said Tillerson had been officially notified of his dismissal via a presidential tweet Tuesday, while the White House said he was notified on Friday. Goldstein said Tillerson had planned to stay on, and that act of publicly contradicting the administration's account got Goldstein fired, reported NBC News, citing an unnamed White House official. Goldstein had served as the undersecretary of public affairs and was the fourth highest ranking official at the State 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
"This has been an honor of a lifetime and I'm grateful to the secretary and the President for this opportunity. I wish everyone well and look forward to getting more rest and perhaps winning an indoor rowing competition. We will see what [happens] next," Goldstein told CNN in statement.
Goldstein barely had time to get his feet wet in the State Department role—he was sworn in on December 4. He had effectively served as a spokesman for Tillerson, CBS News noted. He was reportedly ultimately let go in large part because of a statement Tuesday that read, "The secretary did not speak to the president and is unaware of the reason, but he is grateful for the opportunity to serve, and still believes strongly that public service is a noble calling."
Before joining the State Department, Goldstein had been an executive with BP Global Solutions. He and Tillerson weren't the only folks to lose their jobs in Washington on Tuesday. Trump assistant John McEntee was let go over a security issue that's tied to financial problems in his background, reported The Wall Street Journal.
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