Donald Trump on his failure to fill key government posts: 'I'm the only one that matters'

'The one that matters is me,' the President tells Fox News

US President Donald Trump has claimed he does not need to fill vacant government posts because he is “the only one that matters”.

The President has failed to fill dozens of vacant positions in his administration, particularly at the State Department. He has successfully nominated only one of six under secretary positions at the department, and only three of 24 assistant secretary positions.

Employees at the government’s diplomatic wing have called the current situation “a disaster”.

Addressing the situation on Thursday, Mr Trump said: “We don’t need all the people that they want. I am a business person. When you don't need to fill slots, don't fill them.”

"The one that matters is me,” he added. “I am the only one that matters. When it comes to it, that's what the policy will be."

Mr Trump made his comments in a Thursday night interview with Fox News, on the eve of his first diplomatic trip to Asia.

During the interview, Mr Trump was asked about his relationship with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has clashed with the President on several occasions.

Asked whether Mr Tillerson would be with the administration for the remainder of the presidency, Mr Trump replied: "We'll see. I don't know who's going to be [here for the] duration.”

Later, he said Mr Tillerson is "working hard" and "doing his best”.

Tensions flared between Mr Trump and his Secretary of State last month, when NBC News reported that Mr Tillerson had called the President a “moron” behind his back. The report also stated that Mr Tillerson had considered leaving his role over the summer, and had to be talked out of it by Vice President Mike Pence.

Mr Tillerson later gave a speech in which he denied ever wanting to quit, but refused to answer questions about calling the President a moron.

"I'm not going to deal with petty stuff like that," he said at the time. “...The places I come from, we don't deal with that kind of petty nonsense.”

A State Department spokesperson later denied that Mr Tillerson had made the comment.

Mr Tillerson will not be accompanying Mr Trump on his 12-day tour through Asia, which will bring him to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The President left for the tour on Friday with First Lady Melania Trump, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, US Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer, and several members of the national security team.

The trip is the longest taken by a sitting president since George HW Bush's trip to Asia in 1992. According to national security adviser HR McMaster, it will focus on reducing the nuclear threat from North Korea, advancing international trade, and promoting “a free and open Indo-Pacific region”.