Rex Tillerson's outgoing speech as secretary of state to State Department employees Tuesday was "dignified and even impressive," conservative journalist Bill Kristol said.
"Nothing in Tillerson's tenure became him like the leaving it," Kristol, The Weekly Standard's editor-at-large, said on Twitter:
President Donald Trump tweeted earlier Tuesday that he had fired Tillerson, the former CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp., and planned to nominate CIA Director Mike Pompeo as his successor.
In his farewell speech at the State Department, Tillerson urged an orderly transition to Pompeo and encouraged employees to remain focused on their jobs.
"We remain steadfast here in Washington and at posts across the world, many of whom are in danger-pay situations without their families," Tillerson said.
"The world needs selfless leaders like these — ready to work with longstanding allies, new emerging partners and allies."
Many of these allies, Tillerson said, are "struggling as democracies, and in some cases are dealing with human tragedy, natural disasters, literally crawling themselves out of those circumstances.
"These are experiences that no lecture hall in an academic environment or think tank can teach you," he said. "Only by people going to the front lines to serve can they develop this kind of talent."
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