National Post (National Edition)

Trump sets up Senate brawl with Tillerson naming

- ERICA WERNER

WASHINGTON • Donald Trump is inviting a clash in a narrowly divided Senate by selecting Exxon Mobile chief Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State despite well-publicized concerns from several Republican senators over his ties to Russia.

The likely confirmati­on fight could be an early test of Trump’s sway over Congress, and demonstrat­e how much appetite there is among Republican­s to stand up to their president.

For now, three Republican senators have publicly voiced concerns about the Tillerson nomination: Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Marco Rubio of Florida. All have cited the Exxon Mobil executive’s history of making deals in Russia and his close ties with Vladimir Putin, which include opposing sanctions sought by the U.S. and Europe against Russia after it invaded Crimea.

“While Rex Tillerson is a respected businessma­n, I have serious concerns about his nomination. The next secretary of state must be someone who views the world with moral clarity, is free of potential conflicts of interest, has a clear sense of America’s interests, and will be a forceful advocate for America’s foreign policy goals,” Rubio said. “I will do my part to ensure he receives a full and fair but also thorough hearing.”

Tillerson’s involvemen­t in Russia dates back to 1998, when he was appointed head of Exxon Neftegas Limited, which was in charge of an oil and gas project off the coast of Siberia. The huge project put Tillerson in line to become the Exxon’s vice-president, president and eventually chairman and chief executive officer. It also led to deep relationsh­ips with Russian leaders and a growing profile for Tillerson in the Russian press.

At various times, Tillerson has criticized the U.S. sanctions against Russia. At ExxonMobil’s 2014 annual meeting, he said, “We do not support sanctions, generally, because we don’t find them to be effective unless they are very well implemente­d comprehens­ively, and that’s a very hard thing to do.”

Tillerson’s appointmen­t comes in the middle of a separate but related controvers­y over Russian meddling in the U.S. presidenti­al campaign through hacking and other means.

“There are a number of senators who are hot to trot on the Russia issue, period. When you create a nexus between your State Department nominee and Russia, you’ve put it on steroids,” one senior GOP Senate staffer said.

“The fact that members are even wrestling with this does not bode well for his nomination.”

Graham, who wants a bipartisan investigat­ion of Russian influence on the U.S. elections, said he expects “U.S.-Russia relations to be front-and-centre in his confirmati­on process.”

But it was unclear Tuesday whether the fight over Tillerson would turn into a major brawl in the Senate or just a minor skirmish. One question is how hard Democrats, who’ve made clear they want to focus on economic issues, will fight.

Several issued statements Tuesday angrily denouncing the nomination, but the Democrats’ incoming leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, was more measured, pointing to Tillerson’s Russia ties and calling for a thorough and lengthy confirmati­on hearing “given these serious concerns.”

Trump made a second controvers­ial appointmen­t Tuesday, naming former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to lead the Energy Department, an agency whose name he forgot during a presidenti­al debate even as he vowed to abolish it. Perry, who ran for president in the past two election cycles, is likely to shift the department away from renewable energy and toward fossil fuels, whose production he championed while serving as governor for 14 years.

Perry, who ran two unsuccessf­ul presidenti­al campaigns, is on the board of Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, the company that is trying to build a 1,800-kilometre pipeline that would carry crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois and has sparked protests.

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