Sarah Sanders ducks question on Tillerson's replacement

Amid the mounting speculation that the White House was considering to oust Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused to say if President Donald Trump has confidence in the top diplomat.

In a press briefing, Sanders said, "When the president loses confidence in someone, they will no longer serve in the capacity that they're in."

She made the statement after the reporters repeatedly asked if the President has confidence in Tillerson.

Sanders said that President Trump and Tillerson will be "continuing to work together to close out what we've seen to be an incredible year."

When asked by the media about Tillerson's future prospects, the press secretary said that he should continue to work hard as the Secretary of state.

"I think his future right now is to continue working hard as the secretary of State, continue working with the president, to carry out his agenda," said Sanders, local media reported.

On Thursday, reports surfaced that the White House was planning to replace Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who is very loyal to the President.

The president avoided commenting on the possible ouster and said, "He's here. Rex is here", while attending a meeting with a foreign diplomat where Tillerson was also present.

Tillerson has been at odds with President Trump over a host of issues, including North Korea and Iran's nuclear programme.

The Secretary of State was even reported to have described the president as a "moron".

Trump had publicly criticised Tillerson for "wasting his time" with a diplomatic outreach to North Korea.