The White House has a plan to replace Rex Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo

Evan Vucci/AP

Tensions between Donald Trump (L) and Rex Tillerson (R) have come to a head on several major issues

• President Donald Trump is in talks with White House officials about replacing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo in the coming months.
• Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton would replace Pompeo at the CIA.
• The plan is still in the works and has not yet been approved by the president.

The Trump administration has devised a plan that would replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, The New York Times reported on Thursday. Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican and staunch Trump ally, would reportedly replace Pompeo at the CIA.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly developed the plan, the Times said.

Trump's relationship with Tillerson has soured in recent months. In October, Tillerson reportedly called Trump a "moron." He is said to have considered resigning from his post as America's top diplomat over the summer.

The two have also often been at odds over North Korea. After Tillerson urged calm over North Korea's continued nuclear provocation, Trump tweeted last month that he was wasting his time.

"I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man..." Trump tweeted. "Save your energy Rex, we'll do what has to be done!"

While Trump has not yet approved the plan, it is expected that the transition would occur sometime around the end of the year or shortly thereafter.