text: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives at the Capitol to join Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis in briefing House members on the situation with ISIS on July 20, 2017. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) 
   
   Secretary of State Rex Tillerson may be considering resigning from his job as frustrations with the Trump administration may have him nearing the end of his rope. 
   
   People "familiar with Tillerson conversations with friends outside Washington" told CNN the mood in Foggy Bottom's Mahogany Row has grown increasingly dark in recent days, particularly since President Donald Trump gave an interview to The New York Times in which he publicly rebuked Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Tillerson and others are said to also be troubled by the turmoil at the White House, resulting in last week's shake up of Trump's legal team, the hiring of new communications director Anthony Scaramucci and the resignation of press secretary Sean Spicer. 
   
   Tillerson has been criticized for his absence on the world stage as the Trump administration has left allies concerned with the U.S.' commitment to its agreements and the president's continued warmth toward Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. 
   
   Tillerson's silence has at times been attributed to his disapproval of the president's actions and policies, and those of the people around him. 
   
   Speculation that Tillerson may leave by the end of the year – after reorganizing the State Department – has been circulating for weeks. The former CEO of ExxonMobil has been open about his reluctance to work in government, saying in March that he "didn't want this job." 
   
   Tillerson's frustrations with the White House increased in late June when he lashed out at Johnny DeStefano, the White House's personnel director, about the State Department's decimated ranks. 
   
   According to CNN, two sources close to Tillerson said they sensed a change in recent days, predicting a "Rexit" sooner than originally rumored -- though the sources also acknowledged Tillerson may simply have been "venting after a tough week" and may not mean he's headed out the door immediately. 
   
   ||||| 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." ||||| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Frustration is mounting among leading foreign policy officials in President Donald Trump’s administration as they chafe at some policy and bureaucratic defeats and complain they lack independence to do their jobs, officials say. 
   
   U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson attends a joint news conference with Qatar's foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani in Doha, Qatar, July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon 
   
   The clash between internationalists urging the traditional U.S. leadership role in the world and advocates of an “America First” approach has worn down foreign policy and intelligence professionals inside the government, according to the officials. 
   
   Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has told friends he will be lucky to last a year in his job, according to a friend, while two officials said national security adviser H.R. McMaster was frustrated by what he sees as disorganization and indiscipline on key policy issues inside the White House. 
   
   A source familiar with the situation told Reuters that Tillerson was “very upset at not having autonomy, independence and control over his own department and the ability to do the job the way the job ... is traditionally done.” 
   
   The source said he had heard nothing about any possible departure, but added: “The situation doesn’t seem to be getting any better, and in some respects appears to be getting worse.” 
   
   R.C. Hammond, Tillerson’s spokesman, denied Tillerson was considering leaving or that his frustrations were boiling over, saying he had “plenty of reasons to stay on the job, and all of them are important to America.” 
   
   “There’s a desperate need for American leadership in the world and that’s where the secretary’s focusing his attention,” he said. 
   
   Tillerson scored a policy win last week when the administration certified, albeit reluctantly, that Iran was complying with the 2015 nuclear deal under which Tehran agreed to restrain its atomic program in exchange for sanctions relief. 
   
   He was upset, however, by fierce internal criticism from Trump, as well as his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, and White House aide Sebastian Gorka, over the decision, said another U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity. 
   
   “The secretary does not feel that White House staff members should be in a position to conduct hostile cross-(examinations) of Cabinet officials,” the official said. 
   
   Hammond disputed the account of harsh discord between Trump and Tillerson regarding recertifying the Iran nuclear deal, saying: “I don’t buy this whole thing that there are tensions. Developing public policy is about vetting out ideas,” he said. 
   
   Following last month’s move by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to boycott Qatar, which they accuse of financing extremist groups and supporting terrorism, Tillerson publicly asked the nations to ease their blockade, and put the onus on both sides to end the crisis. 
   
   Less than 90 minutes later, Trump accused Qatar of being a “high level” sponsor of terrorism and suggested he had helped plan the Qatar action with Arab leaders. 
   
   “As a government we offered some confusing signals, but we’ve since been able to clear up and clarify that,” Hammond said. 
   
   Politico reported last month that Tillerson was furious with Johnny DeStefano, the head of the presidential personnel office, for torpedoing proposed nominees to key State Department posts. 
   
   ‘DISRUPTIVE FIGURE’ 
   
   Senior national security officials said McMaster was dismayed that his recommendations, backed by his senior director for Russia, Fiona Hill, about taking a tough stance with Russian President Vladimir Putin, had been ignored. 
   
   Trump has questioned the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to try to help him defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton. 
   
   McMaster, a three-star Army general who once praised Trump as a “disruptive” figure, is also troubled by a protracted debate about sending more U.S. forces to help Afghanistan reverse gains by the Taliban, officials familiar with the matter told Reuters. 
   
   Slideshow (2 Images) 
   
   Asked to respond to the characterizations of the views of McMaster and other officials, a White House official said: “Assertions not of fact but of state of mind in internal thought have no place in a story like this.” 
   
   While circumspect, Tillerson talked about the challenges of his new job earlier this month, telling reporters that it differed from his former role as chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp, where “I was the ultimate decision-maker. That always makes life easier.” 
   
   “I knew what to expect and we had very long-standing disciplined processes and decision-making,” he said. “Those are not the characteristics of the United States government.” ||||| Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is growing increasingly frustrated with the Trump administration and could quit before the year is through, according to reports. 
   
   Two sources familiar with Tillerson’s conversations with friends told CNN over the weekend that he has grown so frustrated with President Donald Trump and his administration that there may soon be a “Rexit.” 
   
   The change in Tillerson’s tone followed a stressful week for the secretary of state. He was found to have violated U.S. sanctions against Russia while working as CEO of Exxon Mobil. Also, Trump publicly assailed one of Tillerson’s fellow Cabinet members, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, saying he regretted hiring him. 
   
   Joshua Roberts/Reuters 
   
   Tillerson, the sources said, viewed Trump’s comments as unprofessional. 
   
   Early Monday, Trump again attacked Sessions on Twitter, calling him “beleaguered” and wondering aloud why he wasn’t investigating Trump’s campaign rival Hillary Clinton. 
   
   Before last week, Tillerson had strongly maintained he would see through his task of reorganizing the entire State Department after Trump’s March budget proposal laid out plans to cut $10 billion from its roughly $47 billion in funding. But that resolve seems to have dimmed. 
   
   The sources acknowledged that Tillerson could have been venting after a tough week, but his frustration is just the latest in a long list of times he has butted heads with the president and his administration. 
   
   Related: ‘Unprofessional’ Rex Tillerson gives meddling White House staffers an earful 
   
   Last month, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner was the one calling Tillerson “unprofessional.” The secretary of state reportedly blew up at top Trump administration staffers during a meeting in White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus’s office. 
   
   Four people familiar with the details of the meeting described the heated exchange to Politico. During his tirade, Tillerson quarreled with the director of presidential personnel, Johnny DeStefano, and made clear he didn’t want the White House to “have any role in staffing.” 
   
   Tillerson has been frustrated after Trump and the White House rejected a number of his hiring decisions. Early this year, Trump vetoed Tillerson’s plan to hire Elliott Abrams as his second in command because Abrams was critical of Trump and his policy positions during the 2016 campaign. 
   
   Early this year, Tillerson was also left scrambling, along with other Cabinet members, in doing damage control after the administration implemented a ban on foreign travel to the U.S. from six Muslim-majority nations. The Cabinet was not consulted beforehand. The move gathered serious legal pushback and is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court this fall. 
   
   In late June, the White House also failed to coordinate with the State Department when it issued a warning to the Syrian regime about using chemical weapons. Such warnings are usually issued through, or at least coordinated with, the State Department. 
   
   Trump has also contradicted and overruled Tillerson's public statements about whether the U.S. should mediate in a dispute between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. 
   
   Both sources said that Tillerson’s frustrations with these situations, and many other tug-of-wars between the White House and Cabinet members, are increasing noticeably and that he has come to realize things won’t change anytime soon.
target: – Jeff Sessions may not be the only Cabinet member whose days are numbered. Multiple reports say Secretary of State Rex Tillerson isn't destined for a long tenure. The latest is Reuters, whose source says Tillerson was "very upset at not having autonomy, independence and control over his own department and the ability to do the job the way the job ... is traditionally done." It says Tillerson has told friends he likely won't last a full year, a sentiment echoed in an earlier CNN story. That one quotes two insiders who say a "Rexit" is possible before the end of the year, adding that Tillerson has been especially unhappy with President Trump's public criticism of attorney general Sessions. The story adds, however, that Tillerson might just have been "venting." Tillerson had previously signaled that he intended to see through a restructuring of the State Department through 2017, but that now seems to be in doubt, reports Newsweek. It runs through his past frictions with the White House, including not being consulted on major issues such as the travel ban. The speculation has been circulating for weeks now, notes US News & World Report, and it isn't helped by statements from Tillerson himself, who said in March that he "didn't want this job." It's reached the point where Tillerson's spokesman addressed the subject, though in the form of a denial that his boss is on the way out. Tillerson, he said, had "plenty of reasons to stay on the job, and all of them are important to America."