JOHN KELLY/REX TILLERSON/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The relationship between White House chief of staff John Kelly and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has soured in recent months, leaving the former Exxon CEO without a single top ally in the White House as talk has ramped up of him being replaced at the State Department.
Kelly, once Tillerson’s fiercest defender in the West Wing, has stopped defending him privately, leaving him more isolated from the West Wing than ever before, according to a top White House official.
Tensions have been high between President Donald Trump and Tillerson for months now, and they were exacerbated after it was publicly reported that Tillerson privately referred to the President as a moron over the summer…
The New York Times reported Thursday morning that the plan to replace Tillerson has been developed by Kelly and is likely to be triggered late this year or early next year.”
-Kaitlan Collins, “White House chief of staff soured on Tillerson post-‘moron’ comment,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, Dec. 1, 2017 12:07pm