Donald Trump Names Secretary of State Nominee

Trained as an engineer, the silver-haired oilman is 64 and has never worked in government, but his global deal-making experience could be an asset in defending United States interests.

“While many admire Trump’s “pragmatism” and have raged against American interventions, the consequences of Washington receding to the sidelines and conducting worldwide relations like cold business transactions could be devastating around the world as leaders see success in abandoning the language of hope and progress”.

The Senate must still confirm Tillerson, and some members of the Republican majority have raised the Russian Federation question. Cory Gardner of Colorado, who said: “Congress has the constitutional responsibility of advice and consent and we will rigorously exercise it”.

In addition, Trump supports sanctions on foreign countries, but Tillerson has spoken out against them, related to Russian Federation, as being ineffective. President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that Tillerson “fulfills his responsibilities in a highly professional manner”, and Putin himself has entertained Tillerson on several occasions. Some senators have already signaled they may oppose his nomination over concerns about his ties to oil-rich Russian Federation, which the Central Intelligence Agency has reportedly concluded interfered in the presidential election in favor of Trump. According to CNN, one official has said there is a plan to sell Tillerson to sceptical senators, with the transition team confident the more lawmakers get to know him, the more comfortable they will be with his appointment. As ExxonMobil’s head, he maintained close ties with Russian Federation and was awarded by President Vladimir Putin with the Order of Friendship in 2013, an honor for a foreign citizen.

Trump also seriously considered Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, for the job.

Backing from former Secretaries of State James Baker and Condoleezza Rice, and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates carry “considerable weight”, Flake said. Mr. Trump has ridiculed the claim, even as Congressional leaders of both parties called for an investigation into it.

Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence will also travel to Wisconsin Tuesday to continue their thank you tour.

“No new deals will be done during my term (s) in office”, the 70-year-old tycoon said on Twitter, adding that he would be leaving his businesses before taking office and that his two adult sons, Don and Eric, would manage his companies. And Romney became the source of a fierce fight within the transition team, with some advisers strongly opposed to the prospect of tapping a Republican who was critical of Trump during the campaign. He has, however, rejected such conclusions, calling them “ridiculous.” “It would be called conspiracy theory!” But it is one thing for Trump to defend what remains a clear electoral victory; it is quite another to deny or ignore the Putin regime’s malevolent actions, which should be fully exposed and punished with bipartisan support. He later endorsed the Republican nominee and said he’d be willing to work in a Trump administration.

“He will promote regional stability and focus on the core national security interests of the United States”, Mr. Trump said. “We can not but support this”. ‘Putin likes that personality type – not exactly the Trump personality, but the personality that quietly projects power, discipline, control. “But we are prepared to do our bit”.

He says Tillerson rose through the ranks “through hard work, dedication and smart deal making”. He would face immediate challenges in Syria, where a civil war rages on, and in China, given Trump’s recent suggestions that he could take a more aggressive approach to dealing with Beijing.

Born in Wichita Falls, Texas, Tillerson has spent his entire business career at Exxon, which he joined in 1975. In 2011, Exxon signed a deal with Russian oil giant Rosneft to provide access to oil resources in the Arctic. He described Tillerson, who has been an Exxon employee for 41 of his 64 years, and became CEO in 2006, as a “world-class player”. “I am not sure those same skills qualify him to be secretary of state”.