In a remarkable glimpse into President Trump’s unconventional way of running the White House and foreign policy, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has described a string of secret meetings, hidden dinners and undisclosed conversations with world leaders conducted by presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner — and concealed from America’s top diplomat.
The secret diplomacy often caught Tillerson unawares as important policy issues favored by Trump and Kushner were being decided, and created a sense of chaos within the White House to observers on the outside.
Tillerson’s comments were contained in a transcript released Thursday of testimony he gave to the House Foreign Affairs Committee in May.
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But the level of dysfunction has rarely been so starkly illustrated as in Tillerson’s under-oath testimony.
In one embarrassing episode, Tillerson said he didn’t even know his Mexican counterpart was in Washington until he walked into a restaurant and discovered Luis Videgaray dining with Kushner. It came during a delicate time in U.S.-Mexican relations, when Videgaray often went around the State Department to capitalize on his friendship with Kushner.
“I walked back,” Tillerson said. “I could see the color go out of the face of the foreign secretary of Mexico.
“I smiled big, and I said: ‘Welcome to Washington.’ And I said: ‘I don’t want to interrupt what y’all are doing.’ I said: ‘Give me a call next time you're coming to town.’ And I left it at that.”
Tillerson said the foreign minister later said he was shocked that the issues that Kushner raised with him had not already been cleared at the State Department.
