STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson acknowledged Thursday [6-29-17] that the process of staffing senior positions in his agency has progressed slower than he’d like, as the State Department and White House trade blame over the issue.
Asked whether he was satisfied with the pace of staffing for these jobs, which include nearly all undersecretary and assistant secretary positions as well as dozens of ambassadorships, Tillerson responded simply: ‘No, I’d like to go faster.’
The comment comes after a testy exchange at the White House on Friday between Tillerson and Johnny DeStefano, who leads the presidential personnel office, which was first reported by Politico. Two officials familiar with the meeting, which took place in White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus’ office, confirmed to CNN that Tillerson let his frustrations over the process be known.
They say Tillerson was unloading his frustration over the pace of appointments, and what he sees as White House interference, on DeStefano but also on Priebus and Jared Kushner, the President’s senior adviser and son-in-law, who was also present.”
-Elise Labott, Jeff Zeleny, and Laura Koran, “‘Uncomfortable’ meeting between Tillerson and top White House aides,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, June 29, 2017 03:21pm