President Trump pushed back Thursday on concerns about a lack of nominees for key positions at the State Department, arguing it wouldn't affect his agenda. 
 
 "Let me tell you, the one that matters is me, I'm the only one that matters because when it comes to it that's what the policy is going to be," Trump said on Fox News when pressed about vacancies by Laura Ingraham. 
 
 "We don't need all the people that they want," Trump continued. "Don't forget, I'm a business person and I tell my people 'well you don't need to fill slots, don't fill them.'" 
 
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 A number of top positions remain unfilled at the State Department, among other agencies, including officials overseeing Southeast Asia and arms control. 
 
 Trump has fallen behind his four predecessors in the number of appointments confirmed by the Senate by this time, while he also has fewer nominations sent compared to the four previous administrations, according to an appointee tracker from The Washington Post and Partnership for Public Service. 
 
 The president blamed Senate Democrats for more nominees not being approved, though he acknowledged that he has focused on nominating fewer people. 
 
 "We're filling up roles. And, don't forget, Schumer and the Democrats are just obstructing. You can't get anything through. We have almost about half the number of people coming through as Obama had. They are obstructing," Trump said. 
 
 
 
 "We have to get our people in. But in addition to that, we don’t need all of the people, you know, it’s called cost saving. ... There's nothing wrong with cost saving." 
 
 "Rex is in there working hard, he’s doing his best, he’s doing the best he can," Trump added. 
 
 Tillerson has himself pushed back on reports of low morale at the State Department, telling Bloomberg recently, "I'm not seeing it, I'm not getting it." 
 
 Trump defended his decision not to appoint nominees for certain State Department positions on Thursday night, telling Fox, "We have some people that I'm not happy with their thinking process." ||||| Washington (CNN) Talk of a potential "Rexit" at Foggy Bottom, new tests for President Trump on immigration, tax reform and media relations and a big challenge for the nation's oldest civil rights organization -- it's all part of our Inside Politics Forecast. 
 
 1) A chill across the executive branch -- and new rumblings from State Department 
 
 There was a decided chill across the executive branch as last week came to a close after a tumultuous series of events that rattled worker bees and caught the attention of Cabinet secretaries. 
 
 A large part of that dynamic was the result of the White House staff shakeup -- which saw President Trump overruling top advisers to hire Anthony Scaramucci as communications director, and the resignation of press secretary Sean Spicer. 
 
 Bigger, though, were the continuing conversations about The New York Times interview in which Trump sharply criticized his attorney general and longtime supporter -- Jeff Sessions -- saying it was "unfair to the President" that Sessions recused himself from any decisions related to the Russia election meddling investigation. 
 
 Among those who viewed the President's public rebuke of Sessions as unprofessional, according to several sources, is Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former Exxon-Mobil CEO. 
 
 Tillerson has a growing list of differences with the White House, including a new debate over Iran policy and personnel. His frustration is hardly a secret and it has spilled out publicly at times. But friends sense a change of late. 
 
 For weeks, conversations with Tillerson friends outside of Washington have left the impression that he, despite his frustrations, was determined to stay on the job at least through the end of the year. That would allow time to continue efforts to reorganize the State Department and would mean he could claim to have put in a year as America's top diplomat. 
 
 But two sources who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity over the weekend said they would not be surprised if there was a "Rexit" from Foggy Bottom sooner that that. 
 
 Both of these sources are familiar with Tillerson conversations with friends outside Washington. Both said there was a noticeable increase in the secretary's frustration and his doubts that the tug-of-war with the White House would subside anytime soon. They also acknowledged it could have been venting after a tough week, a suggestion several DC-based sources made when asked if they saw evidence Tillerson was looking for an exit strategy. 
 
 2) Tax reform next? White House nervous as it eyes clock 
 
 Trump pushed again Saturday for GOP senators to resolve their differences and settle on an Obamacare repeal and replace package. The White House wants a win, and worries failure will further damage the President's political standing. 
 
 Some top Trump aides are worried about the calendar --- believing all this time spent on health care, without success, might have a domino effect on another top White House priority. 
 
 Julie Hirshfeld Davis of The New York Times detailed the anxiety over finding a path toward tax reform. 
 
 "What we're seeing, what we're hearing, from these meetings that have been going on behind the scenes with Steven Mnuchin, the treasury secretary, Gary Cohn, the National Economic Council director and the top congressional leaders on the Republican side is that they're sort of starting to think about potentially trimming their sales and not doing a big massive tax reform but instead a tax cut," Davis said. "There is a lot of uncertainty about whether they're even going to be able to get that this year." 
 
 JUST WATCHED Why tax reform is so hard Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Why tax reform is so hard 02:05 
 
 3) A reset -- with the media? 
 
 New White House communications chief, Antony Scaramucci, is a feisty defender of President Trump 
 
 But even as he echoes the President in tossing around the "Fake News" label, he also says he is looking to rebalance the White House relationship with traditional or mainstream media outlets. 
 
 The timing, Michael Shear of The New York Times suggests, could at least present a genuine opportunity. 
 
 "There could be an opportunity for a press reboot over some of the issues that the press corps has been arguing with the White House for: access to the President, press conferences, on-camera briefings," Shear said. 
 
 "There is a new White House Correspondents' Association president who is coming in, as it happens, at exactly the same time that we have a new communications director and head of the communications shop." 
 
 The moral of that story? It'll be a wait-and-see moment for White House reporters. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Scaramucci: Trump unsure of Russia meddling Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Scaramucci: Trump unsure of Russia meddling 01:34 
 
 4) DREAM Act push -- lost cause or a chance for clarity? 
 
 Trump has sent mixed signals about policy toward so-called Dreamers -- undocumented workers who came to the United States illegally but at an age when they were too young to be responsible for that decision. 
 
 During the campaign, he at times promised to reverse Obama administration protections extended to them. He has not done so as President, and he has on several occasions discussed how difficult it is for him to square his tougher views on immigration with understanding and compassion for a group that is otherwise law-abiding and did not make a decision to break the law. 
 
 A new push in Congress could offer a chance to bring some clarity to the Dreamer question. The Atlantic's Molly Ball discussed the possibility of a revised version of the so-called DREAM Act, and its bipartisan sponsors: Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. 
 
 "It might seem like a strange time to be doing that. But this administration has sent very conflicting signals about DACA," Ball said. 
 
 "There are some state attorneys general that have imposed a deadline on the administration to basically tell them whether this is going to go or stay. They have been issuing work permits. And so Lindsey Graham at the press conference introducing this said, you know, President Trump, you can really sort of act against type, you can solve this problem." 
 
 5) NAACP meets this week -- no presidential visit -- but a Democratic parade 
 
 The nation's oldest civil rights organization -- the NAACP -- holds its annual meeting this week amid a host of questions about how to navigate American politics and policy in the Trump years. 
 
 Trump declined an invitation to attend Several Democrats thinking about the 2020 presidential campaign are scheduled to speak. CNN's Nia-Malika Henderson shared her reporting on how this legacy organization is trying to modernize its approach. 
 
 "The question there, how does this very old, the oldest civil rights organization in the country, reboot and re-imagine themselves in the Trump era and the era of Black Lives Matter? And in the era of resistance? They invited Donald Trump. He said 'no,' he wasn't going to come," Henderson said. 
 
 "Eric Holder will be there. He'll be talking about gerrymandering -- something that's very important to Democrats particularly. Also, it's being looked at as something of a 2020 cattle call. Also in attendance, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders, of course, struggled a bit with getting African-American support when he ran last go around. So we'll see what those folks have to offer." ||||| Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Rex Wayne TillersonHillicon Valley: Justices uphold Trump travel ban | Tech's response | Accused NSA leaker enters guilty plea | Dems press for more info on OPM breach | Senators press Trump to uphold ZTE ban | New hacking threat to satellites Senate panel moves to restore State cyber office Overnight Defense: Two Texas military bases chosen to house immigrants | Reports claim Mattis shut out of key decisions | Growing fears of Chinese espionage MORE delivered a stark warning on Wednesday of "a growing crisis in ethics and integrity" in American democracy, saying that a failure to confront that dilemma will usher the U.S. into its "twilight years." 
 
 In a commencement address at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va., Tillerson said that Americans had a responsibility to confront leaders who mislead the public or promote "realities that are no longer grounded in facts." 
 
 "If our leaders seek to conceal the truth or we as people become accepting of alternative realities that are no longer grounded in facts, then we as American citizens are on a pathway to relinquishing our freedom," he said. 
 
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 Instead, Americans should seek a fact-based society, rather than one "based on wishful thinking ... [and] hoped-for outcomes made in shallow promises," Tillerson said. 
 
 "If we do not as Americans confront the crisis of ethics and integrity in our society and among our leaders in both the public and private sector — and regrettably at times even the nonprofit sector — then American democracy as we know it is entering its twilight years," he said. 
 
 At no point in his speech did Tillerson mention President Trump Donald John TrumpMike Huckabee: If Trump nominated Moses to the Supreme Court Dems would still be unhappy Trump admin likely to detain migrant families for months during immigration proceedings: report ICE chief to protesters: We're not the ones separating families MORE or his administration by name. But the former top diplomat's remarks, at times, appeared laser-focused on the president. 
 
 Tillerson was unceremoniously fired in March, when Trump tweeted that he planned to nominate then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo Michael (Mike) Richard PompeoNorth Korean deception, or too-rigid doctrine? Too early to know Graham offers, withdraws amendment urging Trump address election meddling with Putin Trump to meet with Putin July 16 in Finland MORE as his new secretary of State. Tillerson, who had returned from an official trip to Africa hours earlier, was reportedly caught off guard by his dismissal. 
 
 He formally terminated his commission as secretary on March 31. 
 
 Tillerson cautioned that the U.S. must not take its longtime "allies for granted," but should instead seek to resolve differences, "both in trade relations and national security matters." 
 
 He also appeared to offer a defense of globalization and international trade — something that Trump has railed against. Tillerson acknowledged that, in the U.S., globalization has "led to anxiety and fear about growth in foreign markets and about the global movement of jobs." 
 
 "We must acknowledge, however, that every nation has the right to aspire to a better quality of life, and that free trade and economic growth are the means by which economic opportunity is created for all people," he said, in what appeared to be a veiled rebuke of Trump's "America first" approach to foreign policy and international trade. 
 
 Tillerson also spoke about the need to seek out truth and confront false information, arguing that failing to do so would erode American democracy and transform the U.S. into a more repressive society, similar to the likes of "Russia, China, Iran, North Korea." 
 
 "We do not have to look far to find examples of the cost to individuals and to society when integrity is sacrificed for immediate gain or personal achievement," he said. 
 
 "Such damage strikes at the very heart of a free society. It undermines the public trust in institutions and the overwhelming number of individuals, organizations who do live and compete by the rules every day."
– President Trump sat down with Laura Ingraham Thursday night, and when the Fox News host pressed him on why there are still so many vacancies for top posts in the State Department, he seemed nonplussed. "Let me tell you, the one that matters is me," Trump said, per the Hill. "I'm the only one that matters because when it comes to it that's what the policy is going to be." He also reminded Ingraham that he comes from the business world and that he often tells his own teams, "When you don't need to fill slots, don't fill them." He also put some of the blame on "[Chuck] Schumer and the Democrats" for "obstructing" nominees he's made for these positions, though a Washington Post/Partnership for Public Service tracker points out he's made far fewer nominations than the four presidents before him by this time in their tenure. Trump did touch upon one slot that's filled at State: Rex Tillerson's post. Per Politico, the president was asked if the secretary of state would remain with his administration "for the duration," to which Trump replied: "We'll see. I don't know who's going to be [here for the] duration." He did add that Tillerson was "working hard" and "doing his best." Also receiving mentions from Trump: Pyongyang and Putin. Trump called North Korea a "thing that I think we will solve," per Fox News. "If we don't solve it, it's not going to be very pleasant for them. It's not going to be very pleasant, I guess, for anybody," he said, without giving further details. As for the Russian president, Trump noted he wouldn't be against meeting with him during his upcoming trip to Asia. "Putin is very important because they can help us with North Korea," he said. RealClearPolitics has clips from the interview.