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December 13, 2016 02:54 PM UTC

Trump Confirms ExxonMobil CEO as Secretary of State Choice

  • 28 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols
ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, Donald Trump’s choice for Secretary of State

On Tuesday, the transition team for President-elect Donald Trump made official one of the worst-kept secrets in Washington D.C. in the last week: ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson is Trump’s pick to serve as Secretary of State.

It has been reported in numerous outlets that Trump and Tillerson could be in for a tough battle on the road to confirmation from the U.S. Senate. From FiveThirtyEight.com:

Russia will soon become an axis of conflict between President-elect Donald Trump and the U.S. Senate. Trump may have a difficult time securing Senate confirmation for Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, his pick for Secretary of State, because of Tillerson’s ties to Vladimir Putin and Exxon Mobil’s business interests in Russia. Furthermore, the Senate may soon launch an inquiry into possible Russian interference in the presidential election, something that Trump opposes.

Russia hasn’t been a focal point for policymaking in the Senate over the past several years outside of a few resolutions passed by unanimous consent. Therefore, there aren’t a lot of votes to indicate which senators might take the most hawkish positions toward Russia. However, we can look at two recent developments to get a sense for which senators might be most willing to hold the line against Trump…

Guess who makes the list of Republican “hawks” on Russia who could take a prominent role in Senate confirmation of Tillerson? Hint: His name rhymes with Mory Fardner:

There aren’t a lot of surprises on that list. It includes three of the most well-known Russia hawks in the Senate — Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John McCain of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida — along with Cory Gardner of Colorado, one of the few Republicans to represent a state won by Hillary Clinton. [Pols emphasis] There’s also Portman, Pat Roberts of Kansas and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.

Three of those Republicans — Rubio, Gardner and Johnson — are members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which will vote on State Department nominees before their names go to the entire Senate. [Pols emphasis] Republicans will have just a one-seat advantage on the committee, so any GOP defections could potentially scuttle Tillerson’s confirmation.

What do I think about Rex Tillerson? Well, I’ll tell you, but…hey, look over there!

But as James Hohmann writes for the Washington Post, Gardner may be reluctant to oppose Tillerson’s nomination in part because he needs to raise big money from the oil and gas industry:

Cory Gardner will be reluctant to upset the energy industry, not just because he’s from Colorado but because as NRSC chairman he’ll need to aggressively hit up oil executives for money the next two years.

Is Rex Tillerson really a good choice for Secretary of State? Who cares so long as the oil and gas industry says so!

What does Sen. Gardner have to say about Tillerson’s nomination? As the Colorado Springs Gazette reports…not much:

We asked whether Gardner had a position yet on Tillerson and were told by Communications Director Alex Siciliano: “Senator Gardner will carefully consider whomever is nominated for Secretary of State on their merits, and their merits alone.”

Hopefully you weren’t holding your breath waiting for something more substantial from Gardner, who really just wants to make sure that Donald Trump takes him off of his “naughty list” for being completely unhelpful during the 2016 election. If Gardner is concerned about Russia’s growing ties to the incoming administration, don’t expect to hear it from him anytime soon.

 

Comments

28 thoughts on “Trump Confirms ExxonMobil CEO as Secretary of State Choice

  1. Gardner, ACHole, Moddy and all the rest will fall in line, because, you know, there's money to be made — commission checks to cash, stock dividends, free industry junkets, country club memberships, etc. etc.

    Why let a little thing like preserve and protecting our country's future for our grandchildren get in the way of making as much money as you can today?

    1. ExxonMobil is bigger than the economy of many nations! Tillerson has been a diplomat for years, and he has a successful record. It's time to take power away from the sheltered politically correct academics and let Americans with a record of success in the real world lead for a change!

      Trump is ruffling liberal feathers and I couldn't be happier!!!

    1.  

      Еще один счастливый последователь дорогой лидера Влада! После того, как рублей управления клептократами захватить будет звякнуть вниз, как золотой дождь!

    1.  

      Счастлив счастлив! Как яйцо колыбелью по тонким человеком! Наш дорогой лидер Влад счастлив тоже, со своей маленькой марионетке, установленной в Белом доме большое богатство будет течь к Матери России!

    1. Nothing will coax these morans out of their grandmother's basement like the smell of exhaust. 

      Does Granny know you’re having an interweb circle-jerk in the basement?

        1. Hey Michael and MJ, I forget to comment on my new monicker, Pyrus. Nice touch, I like it. Perhaps you can add Potens, Potens Pyrus. If you and MJ start using it the other Pols will follow.

          1. Or why don't you just change the name yourself and replace your puppy picture with a Chinese pear? That way at least your contributions to this blog will align with your alias rhetoric. 

            I will do this much for you because we liberals are always looking for a chance to give a grammar-challenged internet bot a hand up: here’s the link that gives you the picture of the Chinese pear and the correct spelling. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrus_pyrifolia

            1. I've had Powerful Pear for a long time, think I'll stick with that. But thanks for your idea. I'll see if Rex will ship me a box of Pyrus when he is in China next time.

          2. No..your new moniker is "Traitor". You have sold us out to the Russians. You are a disgrace to this nation and a truly ugly human being. I hope the pain, devastation and anguish your vote is about to cause will someday become apparent to you, though I believe that is beyond your mental capacity.

            It's time to take power away from the sheltered politically correct academics and let Americans with a record of success in the real world lead for a change!

            Let me translate this gem from your buddy, Fluffy.

            It's time to take power away from smart, educated, people who respect other peoples' rights, and let professional profit masters with a record of rolling over humanity and the environment in the name of shareholder value…lead for a change!

            We never know who you sorry fuckers are because you are too cowardly to post your cruel, greedy, shit under your real name. You are not funny. You are not useful. You are a blight on humanity, because you care about only one thing…winning.

            “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

            You are disgusting. Traitor

             

              1. smileyJust as I expected you to say. You have no defense for yourself and your rhetoric.

                I'm sure you will be proud to tell your grandchildren about your part in the demise of their free country and the institution of a plutocratic government that seems intent on destroying their future…unless, of course…you are one of the 1%, in which case their future looks pretty bright…well, at least until the war starts.

                Hail, Victory….you worthless traitor.

  2. Maybe not, but they sure as hell all share the same tired talking points. I just wonder if they're all out of their freaking minds, along with most of the Republican party.

    How can anyone imagine that having the Secretary of State, a person who conducts delicate diplomatic negotiations and tries not to start World War III, can be performed by someone who has never held a real job outside of Exxon? News flash to Trump World: Not every deal is a business deal.Those carpenters and electricians you didn't pay didn't have nuclear weapons and STA missiles to get revenge – but many small nations do.

    This is someone who deliberately misled the world community about climate change, and who has a $500 billion business deal with Putin to thaw out the remainder of the Arctic ice sheet with oil development. How can anyone outside of Trump's inner circle think that this is a good idea?

    If you haven't yet lit up your Senator's phone lines and flooded his email inbox, you need to get off your ass and do it. They need to know that this is NOT OK.

      1. My people are happy. You Democrats are the ones who are hysterical. Gloom dispair and agony is the theme of the Pols. Nothing uplifting or encouraging.

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