United States President Donald Trump dismissed reports suggesting that former secretary of the Navy, Jim Webb, was being considered as the next US Secretary of Defense.
Referring to a New York Times article, Trump said the report of Webb being considered as the next Defense Secretary was "fake news", adding that acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan was "doing a great job."
"The story in the New York Times regarding Jim Webb being considered as the next Secretary of Defense is FAKE NEWS. I'm sure he is a fine man, but I don't know Jim, and never met him. Patrick Shanahan, who is Acting Secretary of Defense, is doing a great job!" he tweeted on Friday (local time).
Apart from New York Times, a number of media houses had reported that Webb was being considered a replacement to outgoing defense secretary James Mattis.
Mattis had resigned from the post in December last year, citing differences with Trump on major Defence policies.
Currently, Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, is overlooking operations at the Pentagon.
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