Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson cited an awkward encounter with President Donald Trump's son-in-law in a Washington restaurant as an example of diplomacy being conducted behind his back when he was in the administration, according to a transcript of a congressional hearing released Thursday.
Tillerson, who was fired by Trump in March 2017, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee he happened to be dining in the same restaurant while Jared Kushner and Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Luis Videgaray were having a private meal.
The former top U.S. diplomat and CEO of ExxonMobil said he "could see the color go out" of the Mexican official's face when Tillerson greeted them at their table with a smile.
"And I said: 'I don't want to interrupt what y'all are doing,'" Tillerson recalled for the committee. "I said 'Give me a call next time you're coming to town. And I left it at that."
Tillerson described the incident as one of the "challenges" he faced during his 13-month tenure as secretary of state that ended when Trump abruptly fired him over social media.
He said it was a "unique situation" to have the president's son-in-law as a White House adviser, saying "there was not a real clear understanding" of his role.
The former secretary testified in private to the committee last month and the transcript was released Wednesday.
The White House declined comment.
Trump had harsh words for Tillerson in December after the former oil executive said in rare public remarks that the president was "undisciplined" and did not like to read briefing reports. Trump called him "dumb as a rock" in a tweet.
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