Report: Sen. Tom Cotton being considered for top CIA post

Apparent tensions between President Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have some expecting a shift in key government positions.

According to Axios, Senator Tom Cotton figures prominently in that potential shuffle.

The site reports that if Rex Tillerson should, for one reason or another, vacate his post, CIA Director Mike Pompeo is the person likely to fill that gap.

"Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) was considered for CIA director (and SecDef) during the transition, and is a candidate for CIA again," Axios notes. "Cotton is one of the few senators with an easy relationship with Trump, talking to him a few times a week, giving him advice about top jobs (that Trump has taken), and planting the seed for the Iran policy announced Friday."

RELATED: A look at Sen. Tom Cotton

Before becoming a U.S. Senator, Cotton graduated from Harvard, worked for a highly-regarded law firm, and served in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Over the past months, he has emerged as one of Trump’s most consistent defenders.

While many have found the president’s blunt manner rather cringe-worthy, in June, Cotton told the New York Times, "What you see is what you get with the president. I think that’s a good measure of a man."

Just last week amid talk of department chiefs who strongly disagree with Trump’s desire to change terms of the nuclear deal with Iran, Cotton voiced support for the President.

“When you’re a Cabinet member [and]…you think the president is wrong, you have a duty to try to present to him the best facts and the best thinking to help him see it in a different light. Maybe you can, but if he doesn’t, and he says, ‘No, I want to do it my way,’ then your job is to move out and execute. And if you feel strongly enough, then you have to resign," he said during a Politico podcast.

RELATED: Current CIA Director Mike Pompeo