Tillerson grilled over Exxon
Ex- CEO pushes back in hearing for State position
WASHINGTON — Former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson pushed back against criticism Wednesday that his long career with the Texas oil giant and his relationships with foreign leaders and adversaries, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, would color his actions if confirmed by the Senate as secretary of state.
During eight hours of questioning by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Tillerson made the case for himself as a pragmatic diplomat, free of entanglements, who would apply strategic and negotiating acumen acquired while leading one of the world’s biggest oil companies to threats including “radical Islam” and Russia and China’s attempts to expand their territories.
“We face considerable threats in this evolving new environment,” Tillerson said. “I will serve only in the interests of the American people.”
After a 40-year career at Exxon, including more than a decade as CEO, Tillerson has found separating himself from his past life near impossible, with senators from both
sides of the aisle questioning him on Exxon’s activities at home and abroad. Following some tense exchanges, Tillerson’s testimony drew criticism from some committee members, who will later recommend whether Tillerson should be confirmed.
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., ranking member on the committee, said in a statement late Wednesday that while Tillerson “has knowledge of the world” the senator was “troubled by his confusing statements” on a variety of subjects.
The hearings were initially expected to stretch over two days, as they did for attorney general nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. But as the number of senators in the room diminished Wednesday afternoon, committee chairman Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Cardin agreed one day would suffice.
“I thought he handled himself well,” Corker said, after the hearing.
Tillerson was a surprise pick for the top Cabinet post after President-elect Donald Trump considered a long list of contenders, including Corker and two of his key supporters during the campaign, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. During the hearing, Tillerson, 64, was grilled on a variety of topics, at times haunted by Trump’s controversial comments on issues from the construction of a wall on the Mexican border to the Paris climate change agreement, which Trump has said he wants to abandon. Tense exchanges
One of the tensest exchanges occurred early on the hearing, when Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., pressed Tillerson on the human rights record of Putin, whom Trump has praised and Tillerson dealt with regularly while negotiating Exxon deals in Russia. Tillerson criticized that record and later argued a more “forceful” response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 might have deterred Putin from further defiance of the United States.
But when Rubio asked if Putin, was a war criminal, he demurred.
“I would not use that term,” Tillerson replied.
Rubio then highlighted thousands of civilian casualties in Syria at the hands of Russian troops, who are supporting the Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad, “I find discouraging your inability to say that which I think has global acceptance,” Rubio told Tillerson.
Throughout the hearing protesters in the audience yelled to senators to block Tillerson’s nomination, bringing proceedings to a halt before they were dragged out by police. Outside the Capitol building, a troupe of cartoon-like “TRex” dinosaurs paraded to the amusement of passing congressional staff.
Under Tillerson, Exxon has in recent years shifted away from skepticism of climate research, supporting the agreement in Paris to dramatically cut carbon dioxide emissions to slow global warming, signed by by almost 200 world leaders.
Tillerson acknowledged that man-made climate change is real, but questioned the reliability of scientific models predicting sea level rise and widespread drought. “I don’t see it as the eminent national security threat others do,” Tillerson said.
Environmentalists criticized his testimony. “It’s encouraging that Tillerson recognizes that climate change requires a global response and that the U.S. must be at the table. But he must go further,” said David Waskow, director of international climate initiative at the think tank World Resources Institute. Growing competition
A native of Wichita Falls, who repeatedly referred to his background in engineering and the Boy Scouts of America, Tillerson presented himself as a careful and precise businessman. Again and again, senators pressed him to give an opinion on specific human rights abuses abroad, only to have Tillerson respond he wanted more information before responding — namely classified reports to which he did not yet have access.
After another tense exchange with Rubio — this time over Saudi Arabia’s treatment of women and criminals — Tillerson said, “There seems to be some misunderstanding that I see the world through a different lens,” he said, explaining that while he agreed with Rubio’s concern, “these are centuriesold cultures.”
But Tillerson also offered himself as a steady, principled voice in the Trump administration — at times disagreeing with some of his soon-to-be boss’s views. Asked by Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., whether he would characterize Mexicans as “rapists” and “criminals” — as Trump did during the presidential campaign — Tillerson said he would never describe any group of people in such general terms.
“Mexico is a long-standing neighbor and friend of this country,” he said. “We have many common areas of concern.”
Throughout the hearing, Tillerson described a dangerous world in which the United States faced growing economic competition from China and a Russian government seeking, “respect and relevance on the global stage.” He described the recent Russian cyber-attacks on the Democratic Party ahead of the presidential election, as described by U.S. intelligence agencies, to the latest in long-running attempts to undermine U.S. democracy that date back to the Cold War.
He also questioned U.S. involvement in removing foreign leaders in countries like Iraq and Libya, where the ouster of the dictators Saddam Hussein and Moammar Gadhafi, respectively, unleashed sectarian, ethnic and tribal violence, destabilizing the countries and creating new threats to the United States.
“We want those people to have what we have,” he said, “but balancing that against our national security interests and what’s most important is we protect the American people first.”
So-called nation building efforts have been at the center of U.S. foreign policy for decades, as presidents from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton attempted to spread democracy around the globe — at times working to remove foreign powers considered counter to those efforts. But Tillerson’s comments indicated a shift away from that role in the world, said Jennifer Harris, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former State Department official under Hillary Clinton.
“It’s a shift for the Republican Party,” Harris said. “I’m not sure if it’s that much of a shift from what Obama has been doing.”
President Barack Obama withdrew U.S. troops from Iraq, drastically reduced them in Afghanistan, and, unlike Russia, has refused to commit them to the struggle in Syria. Climate change
The hearing opened with Tillerson flanked by Republican Texas Sen.John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, along with former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn, a Democrat.
“Mr. Tillerson understands how to separate friendships and business,” Cornyn said. “He knows who he works for.”
Again and again, senators returned to the topic of Exxon. Menendez questioned what exactly Exxon’s lobbying activity around U.S. sanctions against Russia entailed. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., asked Tillerson to explain how Exxon had funded groups questioning climate change despite its own research showing the planet was warming.
When Tillerson referred the climate question to Exxon itself, Kaine asked if it was because he didn’t know or simply was refusing to answer.
“A little of both,” Tillerson quipped.