Trump refutes reports of Tillerson’s exit from White House as Sec. of State calls them “laughable”

Shortly after reports came out that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would be replaced by CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Tillerson shot back saying that the report was “laughable.”

President Trump subsequently tweeted that it was “fake news” and that, although he and Tillerson had their differences, “we work well together and America is highly respected again!”

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders would only say “there are no personnel announcements at this time,” while State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert flat out denied that Tillerson was leaving.

This dramatic turn of events comes after months of speculation that Tillerson would be the next highly placed White House staff member to leave the building.

The original report came from the New York Times, which cited two senior administration officials at the White House as saying Tillerson’s head was on the block, that CIA Director Mike Pompeo would take his place and that Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) was open to taking the top CIA job after Pompeo’s move.

The original plan to oust Tillerson, according to the Times, was developed by White House chief of Staff John F. Kelly.

The Times’ two sources still maintain that Tillerson will be out as early as January, but Tillerson’s and Trump’s new posturing is in direct conflict of that.

One plausible explanation for the conflict of information, says the Times, is that Trump wants to fortify Tillerson’s current standing and avoid undermining his position ahead of the latter’s upcoming trip to Europe for the NATO meeting in Brussels and then to an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe discussion in Vienna to talk about the ongoing unrest in the Ukraine.

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