U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis dismissed reports suggesting he may be leaving President Donald Trump’s administration in the coming months.
"I wouldn’t take it seriously at all," Reuters cited Mattis as saying. "How many times have we been through this, now, just since I’ve been here? It will die down soon, and the people who started the rumor will be allowed to write the next rumor, too."
"Keep a sense of humor about it," he added.
The remarks were the most direct by Mattis to date about intensifying rumors about his future as Trump approaches the half-way mark of his four-year term amid speculation about changes to his cabinet after upcoming November mid-term elections.
Trump on September 5 said the defense chief would remain in his job, but a New York Times report on September 15 said Trump had "soured on his defense secretary, weary of unfavorable comparisons to Mattis as the adult in the room."
