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President Trump claims that reports of Tillerson ouster are 'fake news'

President Trump claims that reports of Tillerson ouster are 'fake news'
Posted at 3:27 PM, Dec 01, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-01 15:27:29-05

President Donald Trump is denying reports that he is ready to fire Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

"The media has been speculating that I fired Rex Tillerson or that he would be leaving soon - FAKE NEWS!" a tweet from Trump's account read Friday. "He’s not leaving and while we disagree on certain subjects, (I call the final shots) we work well together and America is highly respected again!"

The tweet included a link to an Instagram post of Tillerson's swearing-in ceremony.

 

 

On Thursday, multiple outlets cited White House sources saying Trump was readying a contingency plan for Tillerson's departure, which could occur in the coming weeks. The plan including moving Pompeo to Secretary of State and naming Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton as the next director of the CIA.

Tensions between Trump and his top diplomat have remained high since Tillerson reportedly called the President a "moron" earlier this year. Tillerson has not directly denied such reports.