Rex W. Tillerson, former ExxonMobil CEO, is expected to become the next U.S. Secretary of State after the U.S. Foreign Relations Committee approved his nomination by a narrow 11-10 vote.
President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the State Department was subjected to an eight-hour hearing before the committee, and according to U.S. Senator Bob Corker, Tillerson’s “responded to over 1,000 questions for the record.”
Corker, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Monday joined a majority of committee members in voting to favorably report the nomination of Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State to the full Senate for consideration.
“I personally have no doubt that Rex Tillerson is well-qualified,” said Corker. “He’s managed the world’s eighth largest company by revenue with over 75,000 employees. Diplomacy has been a critical component of his positions in the past, and he has shown himself to be an exceptionally able and successful negotiator who has maintained deep relationships around the world.”
To remind, following the news of the then president elect Trump nominating Tillerson for the Secretary of State position, Exxon Mobil said it had reached an agreement with Tillerson, former chairman and chief executive officer, to sever all ties with the company to comply with conflict-of-interest requirements associated with his nomination as secretary of state.
Senator Corker said it was an absolute standard for the the committee to ensure nominees have no conflicts of interest related to their position.
He then cited the non-partisan director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) recently stated that Tillerson is making “a clean break” from Exxon and is free of these conflicts and “serves as a sterling model for what we would like to see from other nominees. He clearly recognizes that public service sometimes comes at a cost.”