Sen. Bob Corker would not say whether the “chaos” he alluded to stemmed from the president himself. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Corker: Tillerson, Mattis and Kelly ‘help separate our country from chaos’

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker offered a blunt assessment of the Trump administration on Wednesday, saying his top advisers “help separate the country from chaos."

Corker, addressing an NBC News report that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson considered resigning in frustration over his role, painted the former ExxonMobil executive — along with Chief of Staff John Kelly and Secretary of Defense James Mattis — as having a calming influence in the administration.


"I think Secretary Tillerson, Secretary Mattis and Chief of Staff Kelly are those people that help separate our country from chaos," Corker told reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon.

The Tennessee senator expressed sympathy for Tillerson, who he said is in an “incredibly frustrating place." Corker added that Tillerson “ends up not being supported in the way I would hope a secretary of state would be supported.”

The stark assessment comes after Corker announced last week that he would not seek reelection in 2018, a move that affords him more freedom in his current role.

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Corker did not say whether the “chaos” he alluded to stemmed from the president himself, but added that the work of Trump's senior advisers “make sure that the policies we put forth around the world are sound and coherent.”

Others in the Trump administration, he added, were less helpful. “There are other people in the administration in my belief that don’t,” Corker said.

Tillerson directly refuted reports that he’d been persuaded to stay on in his role by Vice President Mike Pence over the summer during a hastily scheduled State Department news conference Wednesday morning. “I have never considered leaving this post," he said. The secretary of state also batted away questions about the report that he had called the president a “moron," while not explicitly denying that he had used the term.

Corker declined to comment on whether Tillerson had discussed resigning with him, but said it was pivotal for the nation’s top diplomat to stay on board with Trump.

“I hope they stay because they’re valuable to the national security of our nation,” Corker said of the trio of Trump Cabinet members. He added of Tillerson: “I hope he’s here for a long time.”

Trump similarly challenged the NBC report while visiting Las Vegas in the wake of Sunday’s historically deadly mass shooting. The president told reporters he had “total confidence” in his secretary of state.

