Mr. Trump had also sidestepped questions on Thursday about Mr. Tillerson’s future. Rex is here,” Mr. Trump said then, in an underwhelming display of support that did not challenge the reports of Mr. Tillerson’s pending departure. In the plan revealed on Thursday, Mr. Tillerson would be succeeded by Mike Pompeo, currently the C.I.A. director, who is more closely aligned with Mr. Trump on a series of important foreign policy matters. Mr. Tillerson’s refusal to resign despite his disagreements with Mr. Trump — and the president’s reported dislike for the diplomat — may have been the reason senior administration officials leaked Mr. Kelly’s plan this week to replace him.

Source: New York Times December 01, 2017 17:43 UTC