Corker: Tillerson said he’s unaware of plans to remove him

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Thursday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told him he was not aware of any plans to force him out of the State Department. 

”He’s conducting business, as is the norm, and is unaware of anything changing,” Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters, according to Reuters.

Corker reportedly spoke with Tillerson on Thursday, when The New York Times reported that the White House had developed a plan to remove the secretary of State and replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo sometime in the next several weeks.

{mosads}Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) would then reportedly be tapped to replace Pompeo at the CIA.

Corker, who announced in September that he would not seek reelection in 2018, has been a staunch ally of Tillerson on Capitol Hill, though he has also spoken critically of the secretary’s efforts to overhaul the State Department. 

Tillerson’s tenure at the State Department has long appeared tenuous. He has clashed with the president on certain foreign policy issues, like the Iran nuclear deal.