Trump expected to tap business exec Tillerson to head State Department
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump moved closer to nominating Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of State on Saturday, a decision that would bring a business leader into the Cabinet.
Trump has privately signaled that he plans to tap Tillerson for the powerful Cabinet post, but had not formally offered him the job as of Saturday evening, according to people who have spoken with Trump and his transition team.
Trump and Tillerson met privately in New York on Saturday, their second meeting in a week. The presidentelect’s transition team said an announcement was not expected over the weekend.
In an interview airing
Sunday, Trump praised Tillerson as “much more than a businessman.”
“He’s a world-class player,” Trump said on Fox News Sunday. “To me, a great advantage is he knows many of the players and he knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia, he does massive deals, not for himself, for the company.”
The president-elect’s delib- erations over his pick to lead the State Department — particularly his consideration of Mitt Romney for the post — have exposed anew the deep rivalries within Trump’s team. Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway warned publicly that Trump supporters would feel betrayed if he were to choose a fierce rival for the post, given that some loyal allies — most notably former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani — also wanted the job.
Giuliani officially took himself out of consideration for the Cabinet on Friday, though his standing had already been diminished. In addition to Romney, Trump has also been considering Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker and John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Trump’s team has discussed bringing Bolton on as a No. 2 to Tillerson.
The people who have spoken to Trump and the transition team about the State Department decision insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the internal deliberations publicly.
Trump is said to be intrigued by the prospect of putting an international businessman at the State Department. He’s already selected others with private sector experience to his Cabinet, including investor Wilbur Ross for Commerce.