Report: Trump planning to oust Tillerson from State Department

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump is working on a plan to force out Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, according to a Thursday New York Times report. The Times noted the shakeup could take place before the end of the year, according to unnamed White House sources. Rumors have swirled for months about Tillerson’s departure from the Trump administration. The president criticized Tillerson’s posture toward North Korea in an October tweet, while Tillerson squabbled with Trump on several critical executive actions, including decisions to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords and to disrupt the Iran nuclear deal. The secretary of state reportedly called Trump a “moron” and threatened to resign last month. During an impromptu news conference, Tillerson later denied he planned to leave the Trump administration, but he would not refute reports he disparaged the president in private conversations. According to the leaked White House plan, Trump wants Pompeo to helm the State Department and replace him at the CIA with Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. If the White House follows through with the reported shake-up, Tillerson’s tenure would be one of the shortest for a U.S. secretary of state.