Mike Pompeo, Photo: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons
President Trump could oust Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, according to a report in The New York Times Thursday.
The change in position of the top American diplomat could happen “within the next several weeks,” ending his troubled tenure as the nation’s top diplomat, the Times reported, quoting senior administration officials.
The report comes after reports of difference between Tillerson over the Iran nuclear agreement issue.
Separately, Vanity Fair magazine reported Pompeo could assume the position of Secretary of State in January. However, according to the New York Times, it is not yet clear whether President Trump has approved the plan, which was reportedly devised by his Chief of Staff John Kelly.
Under the plan, Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican, would replace Pompeo as CIA chief once Pompeo moved to the State Department.
Cotton is expected to take the CIA job if offered, according to the Times.
The U.S. media has reported of a tense working relationship between the president and Tillerson.
In October, NBC News reported that Tillerson considered leaving the job and called Trump a “moron” during the summer.
The secretary of State then delivered a remarkable, unscheduled statement in which he insisted he “never considered leaving.”
Tillerson at the time refused to directly address the report that he referred to Trump as a “moron,” saying that he would not “deal with petty stuff like that.”
In October, Trump rejected the idea of negotiating with the North Korean regime, saying he told Tillerson he is “wasting his time trying to negotiation with Little Rocket Man.”
“Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done!” Trump tweeted at that time.
Under Tillerson, the State Department budget has been drastically reduced and several diplomats have left in what the American media has called hollowing out of the department.
