Trump Won’t Say Tillerson’s Job Is Safe, Adds ‘He’s Here’

WASHINGTON, DC — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson may soon be forced out of his role as the nation's top diplomat and replaced by current CIA Director Mike Pompeo, according to a New York Times report Thursday morning. The Associated Press and other outlets shortly confirmed the report citing anonymous White House officials.

Pompeo, in turn, would be replaced at CIA by Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican and one of President Trump's close allies in Congress, reporters Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman found. Rumors have floated around for months that Tillerson's tenure at State would be brief. NBC News reported in October that Tillerson had called Trump a "moron" after a meeting with the president, suggesting a rift between two.

Asked at a press spray in the Oval Office Monday whether he wanted Rex Tillerson "on the job," Trump said, "He's here. Rex is here."

"There are no personnel announcements at this time," White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. "Secretary Tillerson continues to lead the State Department and the entire cabinet is focused on completing this incredibly successful first year of President Trump's administration."

At the press briefing Thursday afternoon, Sanders did not explicitly contradict the Times report.

The Times report does not say whether Trump has given his final signoff on the plan. It says that the strategy to replace Tillerson has been developed by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.

Frank Thorp of NBC News reported that a spokesman for Cotton responded to the story by saying: “Senator Cotton’s focus is on serving Arkansans in the Senate.”

Watch: White House Expresses Support For Tillerson

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