The White House has created a plan to force Secretary of State Rex Tillerson out of his position and replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo within the next few weeks, The New York Times reports.
Senior administration officials said that White House chief of staff John F. Kelly developed the plan and that President Donald Trump has yet to approve it. However, after several reports of Trump’s relationship with Tillerson suffering, it is expected that Trump seeks a “change at the State Department.” According to the official source that spoke with the Times, the president is surprisingly hesitant to fire his senior staff members, and the public reveal of the plan to axe Tillerson could have been a move to help Trump in making a final decision.
Earlier on Thursday, when asked if Tillerson was “on the job,” Trump said, “He’s here. Rex is here.”
Reporter: “Do you have Rex Tillerson on the job?”
President Trump: “He’s here. Rex is here.” pic.twitter.com/H72H8X529y
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 30, 2017
While CNN reports that a source said the reveal of the plan was meant to publicly shame Tillerson, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also danced around the news of Tillerson’s possible dismissal. Talking to reporters, she said, “[Tillerson and Trump] were sitting here in a meeting today working hard to carry out the president’s agenda.”
Q: “What was the tipping point between President Trump and Tillerson? @PressSec: “Like I said, I don’t believe there was a tipping point, considering they were sitting here in a meeting today working hard to carry out the president’s agenda.” https://t.co/TK81zwZ8bK pic.twitter.com/yecLYwou9T
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 30, 2017
However, Sanders also revealed in her press briefing that “when the President loses confidence in someone, they will no longer serve in the capacity that they’re in.”
Trump and Tillerson have previously clashed over issues such as the U.S.’s relationship with North Korea and the Iran nuclear deal, and the possible hiring of Pompeo could present a more united front between Trump and the State Department.