Trump picks tycoon Rex Tillerson to head up State Department
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump announced Tuesday he will nominate oil tycoon Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state, setting up a potential confrontation with fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill who are uneasy with the Exxon Mobil chief executive’s close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a brief statement released by his transition office early Tuesday morning, Trump praised Tillerson, 64, as “among the most accomplished business leaders and international dealmakers in the world” and said he would be a “forceful and clear-eyed advocate for America’s vital national interests.”
The announcement came as Trump finds himself increasingly at odds with members of his own party over his favorable posture toward Russia. Senate Republicans have already announced they will move forward with a bipartisan investigation of Russian meddling in the presidential election, even as Trump mocked intelligence reports that Putin’s government sought to help him win the race.
In picking Tillerson, Trump is launching a battle of wills with some high-profile congressional Republicans, including the party’s 2008 presidential nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain, who has spent the last several days signaling discomfort with the choice.
“While Rex Tillerson is a respected businessman, I have serious concerns about his nomination,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in a statement after the announcement. Rubio, who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, which will conduct Tillerson’s confirmation hearings, said the next secretary “must be someone who views the world with moral clarity” and “is free of potential conflicts of interest.”
Exxon Mobil’s vast corporate interests around the globe are certain to be a flashpoint in confirmation hearings, as foreign policy experts warn Tillerson’s history with the company threatens to give the appearance he would be compromised.
The nomination will probably test senators’ appetites for defying Trump’s administration and reveal what, if any, political price is to be paid by those who do so.