Republican national security veterans who until recently questioned President-elect Donald Trump’s judgment and ability to lead the U.S. appeared to be lining up to endorse Rex Tillerson, his choice for Secretary of State.
The ExxonMobil executive’s close links with Russia and President Vladimir Putin were initially expected to rile GOP leaders who consider the Kremlin as an adversary of the U.S. But 24 hours after Mr. Trump made the announcement on Tuesday, the only substantive resistance to Mr. Tillerson within the Republican Party appears to be from John McCain, Chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee.
“I have concerns about what kind of business we do with a butcher, a murderer and a thug, which is exactly what Vladimir Putin is,” Mr. McCain told NPR on Tuesday. The Senator linked the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria to Mr. Putin. “What’s really egregious is now the precision strikes that Russian aircraft are dropping — precision weapons on hospitals in Aleppo. There is no depth that these people won’t plummet.”
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Mr. Trump has repeatedly sought closer cooperation with Russia and Mr. Putin to deal with the situation in Syria in particular and terrorism in general, an approach that the Obama administration tried to some extent with minimal results.
The Trump transition team sent out a series of e-mails following the announcement on Mr. Tillerson, quoting Republican veterans in support of the choice. Former Secretary of State James A. Baker III described Mr. Tillerson as “an excellent choice to head the State Department”. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said the selection was “another example of recruiting people of extraordinary skill and accomplishment” by Mr. Trump. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush called Mr. Tillerson a “patriot who will represent the interests of United States really, really well”. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel and House Speaker Paul Ryan have rallied behind the nominee, emboldening Mr. Trump.
The appointment requires confirmation by the Senate. Republicans have 52 members in the 100-member upper chamber of the U.S. Congress.
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Besides Mr. McCain, at least two more Republican Senators appear to be holding out — Marco Rubio of Florida who said he had “serious concerns”, and James Lankford of Oklahoma whose spokesperson said he was unsure of voting for Mr. Tillerson.
Links with Moscow
Democratic Senators will raise concerns related to Mr. Tillerson’s links with Russia and also on his views on climate change and economic sanctions. Mr. Tillerson has accepted that climate change is caused by human action, but ExxonMobil’s business planning under his leadership accounted for continuing fossil fuel exploration for at least 40 years more. He has also been critical of economic sanctions as a tool of strategic policy.
But the huge leverage Mr. Tillerson has built over politicians could come handy. The support that he received from former Secretary of Defence Robert Gates and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demonstrates his influence. Both Republicans have been paid consultants for ExxonMobil.
During the campaign, Mr. Gates had termed Mr. Trump “wilfully ignorant about the rest of the world”, and singled out the then presidential candidate’s praise for Mr. Putin to prove his point. Ms. Rice had said: “Enough! Donald Trump should not be President. He should withdraw.”
By roping in a business baron, Mr. Trump has roped in a considerable section of the Republican establishment, too, it appears.