Tillerson on reports of possible ouster: ‘Get better sources’

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Saturday said there is no truth to news reports that he could soon be forced out of the State Department. 

“People need to get better sources,” Tillerson told Reuters in an interview at the State Department. 

He said he would stay at the agency as long as he “can be effective and get something done,” insisting that under his stewardship the State Department is “getting a lot done.”

{mosads}

Multiple news reports this week indicated that the White House has developed a plan to oust Tillerson as the Trump administration’s top diplomat and replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, a former GOP congressman close to President Trump.

Pompeo, under that plan, would be replaced at the CIA by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).

But administration officials have pushed back on those reports, saying that there are no such plans in place and seeking to quell speculation that Trump’s relationship with Tillerson is on the rocks.

Trump himself lent confidence to Tillerson’s future at the State Department in a tweet on Friday, saying that the secretary is “not leaving” and that media reports suggesting otherwise are “fake news.”

Tillerson also addressed the reports on Friday, calling them “laughable.”

Still, Trump and Tillerson have clashed at times over key foreign policy issues, including the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate accord.

Trump appeared to undercut his secretary of State in October, writing on Twitter that he had told Tillerson he was “wasting his time” trying to negotiate with North Korea. That came after Tillerson suggested that the U.S. was trying to open up a line of communication with Pyongyang.