President Trump on Thursday pushed back against rumors of a White House shakeup, casting stories of an impending mass exodus as “very exaggerated.”
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said a story published Thursday about staff changes in the administration “was very false.”
It was unclear which specific article the president was referring to. Several outlets have reported on Trump’s frustrations with national security adviser H.R. McMaster and Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shuklin, claiming both men could be next up on the chopping block.
“The story was very false. They wrote a story about staff changes today that was very false. We made one change,” Trump said, referring to his recent replacement of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
“I’ve gotten to know a lot of people over the last year … so there will always be change, but very little,” he continued. “It was a very false story — a very exaggerated and false story.”
Rumors abounded for months that Trump would eventually fire Tillerson, before the president pulled the trigger in a tweet on Tuesday. Similar speculation has surrounded McMaster, who has been in talks with the Pentagon about returning to the military.
The president also replaced outgoing economic adviser Gary Cohn this week with CNBC contributor and Reagan administration alum Larry Kudlow.
