Tillerson meets with Pence, defying resignation rumors

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Vice President Pence on Wednesday, a day after the State Department quelled rumors Tillerson is resigning from his post.

Tillerson said at an event that he “had a lengthy meeting with the vice president at the White House on some important policy issues today,” as well as a separate meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

News of the meeting comes after CNN reported on Monday that Tillerson was expressing frustrations with the country’s top diplomatic post and is considering resigning.

Tillerson took some vacation earlier this week and returned to work on Wednesday.

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State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert denied the rumors about Tillerson on Tuesday, saying, “We have spoken with the secretary. The secretary has been very clear he intends to stay here at the State Department.”

“We have a lot of work that is left to be done ahead of us. He recognizes that. He’s deeply engaged in that work,” she said.

She left open the possibility that President Trump might not feel the same way.

“He does, however, serve at the pleasure of the president just as any cabinet official would,” Nauert said of Tillerson.

Trump recently replaced some members of his White House staff and is rumored to be considering additional changes.

Tillerson, a former ExxonMobile CEO, has expressed frustrations about government life in the past, telling reporters in July that government was “not a highly disciplined organization.”

The secretary of State reportedly agreed with Trump’s critics who did not think the president behaved professionally in recently criticizing Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Trump lashed out repeatedly in recent days against Sessions for recusing himself from the federal probe into Russian election meddling. Trump called it “unfair to me.”