MOSCOW (Sputnik) — White House spokesman Raj Shah has denied the report by The Wall Street Journal that the administration of US President Donald Trump is likely to go through a massive personnel reshuffle, calling it "pure speculation."
According to senior administration sources cited by the media outlet, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is most likely to leave the office, while Trump's economic adviser Gary Cohn and White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Intergovernmental Affairs and Implementation Rick Dearborn were also named as potential candidates for removal from office.
READ MORE: Will Rex Tillerson Become a Victim of His Own State Department Revamp?
The statement comes after The New York Times reported Thursday, citing administration officials, that the White House was planning to replace Tillerson with Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo by the end of the year or shortly thereafter.
State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said that Kelly had notified the department that the reports were not true, emphasizing that Tillerson remained committed to his job.
READ MORE: Tillerson Accused of Calling Trump a ‘Moron' and Threatening to Quit
Earlier this year, CNN reported that Tillerson was considering resigning from the State Department before the end of the year due to growing frustration with the Trump administration.
The report claimed Tillerson was at odds with the White House over several issues, including the issue of State Department staffing and the current administration's policy toward a number of countries, including Iran, North Korea and Cuba.
NBC News subsequently reported that three officials familiar with an alleged crisis in relations between Trump and Tillerson said Tillerson was infuriated with the president during the summer over the subject of North Korea and after a July 20 Pentagon meeting called him a moron.
