President Donald Trump remains "wide open" on the Paris climate agreement, Defense Secretary James Mattis said in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday.
"I was sitting in on some of the discussions in Brussels, where climate change came up – and the president was open," Mattis told John Dickerson on "Face the Nation" on CBS News. "He was curious about why others were in the position they were in – his counterparts in other nations.
"I’m quite certain the president is wide open on this issue as he takes in the pros and cons of that accord."
Mattis was interviewed before Axios news outlet reported that Trump had told several "confidants" – including EPA chief Scott Pruitt – that he was pulling the U.S. out of the landmark climate change accord.
Axios cited three sources "with direct knowledge" to the president's plans.
Trump said on Twitter earlier Saturday that he would make a decision on the Paris agreement next week.
Mattis told Dickerson that climate change did not fall directly within his purview.
"We deal with the aspects of a warming climate in the Department of Defense – and to us, that’s just another one of the many factors we deal with, which we call the physical environment."
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