US foreign policy to mirror Donald Trump under Mike Pompeo after Rex Tillerson’s sacking

US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson listening to statements before a luncheon with US, Korean, and Japanese leaders at the UN last year.

America’s foreign policy is set to be more hawkish and assertive under Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State than it was under Rex Tillerson.

Pompeo is notably tougher than Tillerson on Iran, has less time for diplomacy with North Korea and is a more strident and plain-speaking figure than was Tillerson who was sacked early today by Donald Trump.

In short, Pompeo’s world view is much closer to that of Trump who saw Tillerson as lacking the toughness needed for a Secretary of State.

Tillerson’s sacking is not a surprise and has been rumoured for months. He disagreed with the president on too many issues, taking a harsher line on Russia than Trump wanted, a softer line on North Korea than Trump wanted and also a softer line on Iran that the president had argued for.

On top of that Tillerson had never denied reports that he had called Trump a moron in private and Trump in turn disliked the body language Tillerson used in meetings with him.

Tillerson also had other problems. The former Exxon-Mobil chief had no support base on Capitol Hill, and was deeply disliked in the US State Department for his redesign of what he considers to be a bloated bureaucracy and also for his intention to slash staff by eight per cent or 2000 people.

During Tillerson’s short tenure, the US State Department’s influence in US foreign policy was weaker than at any time in the past two decades, as the White House wrestled the agenda from it.

Even so his departure will be greeted with disappointment in Canberra where Tillerson had forged a good working relationship with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

Canberra also supported Tillerson’s view that the Iran nuclear deal, while flawed, was worth keeping. It also agreed with him that dialogue with the North Korean regime was worth pursuing.

Mike Pompeo testifies on worldwide threats during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington DC.

Pompeo, a West Point graduate and a Republican from Kansas elected to Congress in 2011, has forged a close relationship with Trump as head of the CIA.

He took over when Trump’s relationship with the CIA was at a low ebb, after the agency had accused Russia of meddling in the US election. Pompeo rebuilt a bridge between the agency and the president, delivering daily intelligence briefings in person at the White House, where Trump liked his plain-speaking style.

Under Pompeo, Trump will push more strongly for the US to withdraw from the nuclear deal and is likely to adopt a more hawkish tone in all US dealings with Iran.

Pompeo will also have to manage the unchartered territory of trying to set up the talks between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a person he has been highly critical of in the past.

He will usher in a sharper, more conservative and more hawkish approach to US foreign policy, which is what Trump wants.

Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia.

Donald Trump with Rex Tillerson (seated) after he was sworn in last February as Secretary of State with wife Rena St. Clair (R), and Vice President Mike Pence (L) looking on.