Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: ‘I’m not going anywhere’

Tillerson’s future became an occasion for speculation following reports that he’d grown increasingly frustrated with President Trump. The secretary has faced delays in making political appointments at the State Department, in part because Trump’s team has vetoed some of his choices for senior positions. That coincided with Trump’s public criticism of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, which highlighted the precarious nature of Trump’s Cabinet posts.

“[I’ll be here] as long as the president lets me,” Tillerson replied when asked how long he might remain in the administration.

Tillerson has acquiesced to the latest White House veto of a political appointee, according to reports, another sign that he remains willing to subordinate his choices to that of Trump’s team. BuzzFeed reported that Olin Wthington, a former Treasury official who is also a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, is in the running for assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

That’s a notable post for policy reasons, given the brewing threat of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and China’s aggressive foreign policy. It’s also symbolic in terms of the dynamic between the White House and Tillerson, as the appointment in question led to a heated exchange between Tillerson and a White House aide. The secretary lashed out at a staffer for vetoing his original pick to fill the Asia post. But that only drew a rebuke from Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, who reportedly told Tillerson’s team that the former Exxon Mobil CEO had acted unprofessionally in the meeting.

“Colleagues are capable of frank exchanges,” R.C. Hammond, a State Department spokesman, said in June when the report surfaced. “Evaluating nominees did get off to a slow start, but it is now moving along at a pretty good clip.”

Tillerson didn’t give away any frustration with Trump on Wednesday. “It’s good,” he replied when asked about his relationship with the president.