It’s “quite possible” Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson won’t be confirmed due to concern over his ties with Russia, a Democratic senator said Thursday.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said on CNN Tillerson may face an uphill battle due to concerns expressed by GOP Sens. Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham and John McCain, among others. He said Tillerson’s nomination speaks to Trump’s problem of seeming to be moving closer to Russia, an openly adversarial state in recent years.
“We don’t know enough about President-elect Trump’s relationship with Russia,” Coons said. “He’s the only president in the modern era who hasn’t released his taxes, so we don’t know if Russian oligarchs have invested in his properties.”
Tillerson is known for doing business with President Vladimir Putin and Russia in the energy sector during his time at the head of Exxon Mobil. He’s received an award called the Order of Friendship from Putin, which has concerned many Democrats and more hawkish Republicans.
“If you nominate someone who’s done business with Vladimir Putin for years, especially if he’s received an Order of Friendship award from Putin, I think we have legitimate pointed questions about whether we should be cozying up to a country that is our adversary, not our business partner,” Coons said.
Tillerson can expect a tough confirmation hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which Coons serves on.
Coons said he’s hearing real worries from senators over Tillerson’s appointment. “There is real concern about this, particularly when John Bolton, an unreconstructed neocon who still thinks the Iraq War was a great idea, is expected to be his nominee for deputy secretary of state.”
