Report: Rex Tillerson, ExxonMobil CEO, to be named Secretary of State
“Paired” with John Bolton as his deputy Secretary of State
While this has yet to be confirmed by President-elect Trump or his team, NBC News is reporting that CEO Rex Tillerson will be nominated for Secretary of State with John Bolton serving as his second.
Donald Trump is expected to nominate Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state, two sources close to the transition process told NBC News on Saturday.
Tillerson, 64, became president of the Texas-based oil company in 2004 and has a close business relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has spent his entire career at the company now known as Exxon Mobil.
The sources cautioned that nothing is final until the president-elect officially announces it, likely next week.
Tillerson met Saturday with Trump at Trump Tower in New York, the president-elect’s spokesperson confirmed.
JUST IN: Trump to name Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, sources say https://t.co/kthwSkGc0j pic.twitter.com/vZmWztv0qn
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 10, 2016
NBC News continues:
Tillerson will be paired with former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton as his deputy secretary of state for day-to-day management of the department, one source added.
As secretary of state, Tillerson would be fourth in line to the presidency.
McClatchy has more information about Tillerson.
Tillerson will face confirmation hearings in the Senate.
The CEO, who made $27.3 million in salary last year, has some policy differences with the President-elect.
Tillerson believes in man-made climate change and supports the Paris climate agreement, but Trump has indicated he will pull out of the agreement when he assumes the presidency.
Exxon has been criticized for denying climate change in public while privately preparing its oil infrastructure for rising sea levels during the 1980s and 1990s, although the company called for a carbon tax starting in 2009.
In 2012, Tillerson told the Council on Foreign Relations that the U.S. should focus on the reliability of energy over the potential concerns of foreign countries producing energy consumed by Americans.
“I think what the U.S. policy and what’s in the best interest of American consumers has been and should be — is securing access to energy in a reliable, relatively affordable way,” Tillerson said. “And if we’re able to do that, where it comes from should be of little consequence to us.”
But Tillerson has close ties with Russia and Vladimir Putin that go back to the 1990s, when Tillerson ran Exxon’s Russian operations. In 2013, Putin awarded Tillerson the Order of Friendship, one of Russia’s highest honors for foreigners.
“Anything Trump and Exxon do is going to be controversial,” said Jim Krane, an expert on energy geopolitics at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. “If Trump really wanted to pursue his campaign goals of bettering U.S. relations with Russia, Tillerson would be someone who could probably carry that out. He’s on pretty good terms with Russia.”
Tillerson’s lack of formal diplomatic or political experience is unprecedented for a secretary of state in modern times. Private-sector leaders like Goldman Sachs CEO Hank Paulson have made the jump into Cabinet positions, but the role of secretary of state has gone to former politicians, diplomats or academics.
In 2013, Putin awarded Tillerson the Order of Friendship (one of Russia's highest honors). Has any other American won this award?
— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) December 10, 2016
The New York Times reports that the award was made in 2012, not 2013.
Presumably, the Bolton move is intended to quell any concerns that Trump supporters might have about this nomination for Secretary of State.
According to news reports, Rex Tillerson, head of Exxon Mobil, as likely Secretary of State. If true, this is… https://t.co/AVABHFXu8K
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) December 10, 2016
ExxonMobil Chairman Tillerson, likely SOS, has a relationship with Russia and Putin? Good, the US could use a REAL reset, for once. Go Trump
— Back In Style (@RedStateRule) December 10, 2016
Again, this is unconfirmed by the Trump team, so we will update as more is learned.
Transition Update: No announcements on Secretary of State until next week at the earliest. #MakeAmericaGreatAgain
— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) December 10, 2016
Why not announce today? Who knows? This may be just another Trump media play.
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Comments
Bolton should be the pick. Tillerson sounds like a fruitcake.
Rags, I was getting worried about you. It’s good to see you’re still alive and kicking.
“Tillerson sounds like a fruitcake.”
As with the left, the Washington Post, and others, if you don’t like him it means he is a damn good pick.
Eagle Scout, father was, son is. A president of BSA.
I thought character counted for you.
You’re a nut.
We agree. Oh no, apocalypse check. Cats and dogs living together.
Tillerson was featured in a story I did last October. He wasn’t going to embrace either climate change or the demand to appoint climate change alarmists to the board of directors to ExxonMobile.
I like Tillerson: He fights. I like this pairing, and will be enjoying the schadenfreude when progressives learn of this development.
I wish I had the ability to work-up a Hitler parody video.
My previous story is here:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2015/10/congressmen-want-to-unleash-feds-on-exxonmobil/
https://legalinsurrection.com/2015/10/congressmen-want-to-unleash-feds-on-exxonmobil/
Leslie your reporting is first class.
NBC sez so, eh?
By now we should have learned something.
The press is always wrong about Trump. Always.
The media can’t figure him out, and he’s not about to start helping them.
Personally, I don’t think anything is worth the investment of typing time until Trump announces it.
But in the meantime, the fireworks display over LiberalLand should be pretty entertaining.
The libs that I know are in funeral mode.
It may be true or President Trump could be trolling obama again.
After all, obama just told the spy agency to look into Russia hacking the election.
Remember that a big part of the job of Trump’s new SoS will be to clean up the corrupt nest of vipers at Foggy Bottom. A top CEO like Tillerson, and Bolton, who understands the State department better than any of Trump’s other potential picks, is the perfect team for that.
I like Bolton. I don’t see him taking a #2 position unless he’s comfortable with the person in #1.
I guess it’s a trial balloon to see if the appointment is acceptable enough. Bolton’s there to placate the neocons, and he’s the “bad cop” we can send to scare other countries so Tillerson and Trump can play “good cop”.
I think it’s a great appointment. Much foreign policy is about oil, and the rest we probably don’t need to be involved in anyway.
Sounds like a winning team to me. President-Elect Trump is making some excellent choices so far.
Title check! Someone takes their energy for granted to get this name wrong. Formerly Exxon is now ExxonMobil. There never was a Mobile.
Great, thanks.
Thanks for the excellent article Fuzzy.
As CEO of ExxonMobil, Tillerson negotiates with heads of government. Ministerial appointees like Foreign Secretary sat in the back. When he goes on the offense as Donald Trumps’ SecState, I picture a hammer and anvil.
Meanwhile back in Washington, John Bolton will have the politically correct crowd at State shaking in their lace and silk undies.
I think the Democrats still haven’t figured out what has hit them. They continue to underestimate what is happening. This could end up being the end of the Democratic party if Trump succeeds.
This is a good and comprehensive explanation of why Tillerson would be a great pick:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenrwald/2016/12/10/8-reasons-exxons-rex-tillerson-could-succeed-as-secretary-of-state/#7ba8c8356b24
Which one of these is the “Bannon,” and which one is the “Priebus?”