President Donald Trump on Thursday night talked about the unfilled positions in the State Department.

Critics have said the unfilled positions are damaging US foreign policy.

"The one that matters is me," Trump said.



President Donald Trump addressed the state of the State Department, which has numerous unfilled positions some see as critical, during an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Thursday night.

"So we don't need all the people that they want," Trump said. "Don't forget, I'm a businessperson and I tell my people, 'Where you don't need to fill slots don't fill them.' But we have some people that I'm not happy with there."

In June, the State Department was reportedly performing an internal review that could have seen a 30% budget cut and eliminate 2,300 jobs. Foreign-policy experts at the time decried the move, saying it could drastically set back US foreign-policy efforts in volatile regions of the world.

"The one that matters is me," Trump continued Thursday night. "I'm the only one that matters because when it comes to it, that's what the policy is going to be. You've seen that, you've seen it strongly."

"It's called cost saving," Trump said. "I want my vision, but my vision is my vision anyway. It's called cost saving. There's nothing wrong with cost saving."

Despite the unfilled positions, Trump suggested that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was giving his best effort on matters of foreign policy.

"Rex is in there working hard," Trump said. "He's doing his best."

Watch the clip here: