President-elect Trump’s choice of Rex Tillerson to lead the State Department is being celebrated by high-profile members of George W. Bush and President Obama’s administrations, who said the Exxon Mobil CEO has “great integrity” and broad international experience.
“I know Rex as a successful business man and a patriot,” former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice added in a Facebook post. “He will represent the interests and the values of the United States with resolve and commitment. And he will lead the exceptional men and women of the State Department with respect and dedication.”
“I strongly endorse the President-elect’s select of Rex Tillerson to be the next secretary of State,” former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who served under Bush and Obama, said in a statement Tuesday morning. “He would bring to the position vast knowledge, experience, and success in dealing with dozens of governments and leaders in every corner of the world.”
Both Rice and Gates represent Exxon Mobil through their consulting firm, but they remain highly respected foreign policy experts. Gates, who led the Pentagon under President Obama and George W. Bush, is one of Tillerson’s earliest and most significant backers. Trump reportedly first considered interviewing Tillerson at Gates’ recommendation.
“While ExxonMobil is one of many clients of RiceHadleyGates Consulting, I met Rex years earlier through our mutual involvement in and leadership of the Boy Scouts of America,” Gates said. “I know this Eagle Scout will be a global champion for the best values of our country.”
Trump’s willingness to accept Gates’ advice demonstrates an improvement of their relationship since the presidential election, when Trump referred to Gates as a “clown” after the former defense secretary said Trump’s foreign policy ignorance was “beyond repair.” “Mr. Trump’s expressions of admiration for the man and his authoritarian regime are naive and irresponsible,” Gates wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed in September.
In the same column, Gates provided a list of “hostile Russian actions abroad” that will continue until Russian President Vladimir Putin is “confronted and stopped” by the United States. “No one in the West wants a return to the Cold War, so the challenge is to confront and stop Mr. Putin’s aggressions while pursuing cooperation on international challenges that can only be addressed successfully if Russia is at the table — from terrorism to climate change, from the Syrian conflict to nuclear nonproliferation and arms control,” he wrote.
That assessment could preview the Trump team’s case for Tillerson’s confirmation, which could be more controversial than is typical when the same party controls the Senate and the White House. Tillerson’s ties to the Russian government have worried some key Republicans. He received Russia’s Order of Friendship from Putin after striking a major energy deal, and has criticized economic sanctions against Russia as being ineffective.
“Being a “friend of Vladimir” is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tweeted Sunday.
Rubio’s skepticism is particularly significant because he sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that will hold Tillerson’s confirmation hearing, and Republicans only have a one-seat majority on that committee.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who was a contender for secretary of state but will chair the confirmation hearing instead, offered initial praise for the choice. “Mr. Tillerson is a very impressive individual and has an extraordinary working knowledge of the world,” he said. “I congratulate him on his nomination and look forward to meeting with him and chairing his confirmation hearing.”
