By choosing ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson, who has close business ties with Moscow, for the post of Secretary of State, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has risked a new confrontation with some Republican leaders who consider Russia as the main adversary of the U.S.
Republican Senators John McCain and Marco Rubio had opposed the move even before Mr. Trump formally announced his decision on Tuesday morning.
“I look forward to learning more about his record and his views,” said Sen. Rubio of Florida in a statement issued after the announcement, leaving the door open for negotiations. “While Rex Tillerson is a respected businessman, I have serious concerns about his nomination,” he said.
However, Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee and Paul Ryan, House Speaker, have all come out in support of Mr. Tillerson.
He has never held a public office in his life and little is known about his views on foreign policy. The 64-year-old has been sceptical of the US sanctions against Russia, and has expressed interest as a corporate head to do business with Iran.
Under him, ExxonMobil turned around to accept climate change is real and it issued a statement in support of the Paris Climate Agreement. “He will likely continue to work with India in creating a new architecture for Indo-Pacific security,” said Aparna Pande, Director, Initiative of the Future of India and South Asia, at Hudson Institute, Washington. “He will serve as a bridge to Russia and probably shares President-elect Trump’s world view on international relations as a series of business-like deals. If… Mr. Tillerson enjoys the backing of establishment Republican Party figures like James Baker and Condolezza Rice, then he will act like any other Conservative Secretary of State in asserting U.S. interests abroad,” she said.
Ms. Rice, former Defence Secretary Robert Gates and former Vice President Richard B. Cheney have supported this selection.
Another keen observer of Washington politics, who did not want to be named, identified three reasons why Mr. Tillerson could be good news for India. “He is non-ideological and would be familiar with India as a big energy market. Secondly, if he resets U.S. relations with Russia, it could only help India. Most important of all, for a person who has operated on a global level in the energy market, maintaining the U.S. role in the world will be a priority, which will be good for India.”
Added Michael Kugelman, senior associate for South and South-East Asia at the Woodrow Wilson Center: "On a geopolitical level, Mr. Tillerson's strong ties to Moscow may ultimately be beneficial for U.S.-India relations, given New Delhi's own strong ties to Moscow."
