Former ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson’s bid to be the next secretary of state received a major boost on Sunday when a pair of Republican senators who had expressed consternation about him announced they will vote to confirm him, a move that effectively clears the way for him to win confirmation.
Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey O. Graham, R-S.C., two traditional GOP hawks who have voiced skepticism about Tillerson’s ties to Russia, released a joint statement saying that after much thought, they have decided to back him.
“After careful consideration, and much discussion with Mr. Tillerson, we have decided to support his nomination to be Secretary of State,” they said. “Though we still have concerns about his past dealings with the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin, we believe that Mr. Tillerson can be an effective advocate for U.S. interests.”
McCain first announced his decision on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos. He said that it “wasn’t an easy call.”
Republicans hold a 52-48 advantage over Democrats in the Senate, leaving Tillerson little margin for losing Republican support if every member of the Democratic Caucus aligns against him. McCain and Graham were seen as two of a small handful of Republicans who might defect.
But Tillerson backers can now breath a sigh of relief. Barring any surprise Republican defections, he will have the simple majority support he needs.
Before a full floor vote occurs, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will vote on Tillerson on Monday afternoon. The biggest question mark in the committee vote is Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who grilled Tillerson about Russia during his hearing and seems dissatisfied with some of his responses.
Rubio has not said what he will do in the committee vote or in a Senate floor vote. But if he and all the Democrats on the committee vote against Tillerson, it would tilt the committee against him, dealing a humiliating blow.
Even in that scenario, however, there are ways to bring Tillerson’s nomination to a full floor vote. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker , R-Tenn., said last week that one way or another, Tillerson will “definitely come out of committee.” Corker has also expressed confidence that Tillerson will be confirmed by the full Senate.
“When there’s doubt, the president, the incoming president, gets the benefit of the doubt,” McCain said on ABC, explaining his decision. “And that’s the way I have treated every president that I have had the obligation to vote for or against as a member of the United States Senate.”
(c) 2017, The Washington Post · Sean Sullivan
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5 Responses
They’re embarrassed by the fake news scandal.
#1 please explain?
I think this can be summed up pretty simple, these 2 senetars are all talk no action and full of hot air, they knew from the start that they will back him, it sounds good to play the political game and then cave at the end.”draintheswamp”!!!!
Trump is infamous as the sort of businessman who cuts a deal that rips off the other side. We tried conventional diplomacy with Putin and both Bush and Obama failed. So lets try something new. Tillerson has managed to get the Russians to do things, and in all fairness, none of the previous administrations have been able to get the Russians to do, or not do, anything.
The bottom line is a suggestion that the neo-cons will give Trump a chance, and that the Trump concept of “America First” isn’t really isolationism but a more focused sort of internationalism.
Re comment no.3, “trump”: OK, who thinks that “trump” is the actual (or illegitimate, if you are a sore-losing liberal – I am a liberal, but a non-sore loser) president? I would not rule out the possibility that “trump” is the actual president, as he (the president) is so focused on the public perception of him and everything that is said in public about him.
Re comment no. 4: You got it slightly wrong: Trump is infamous as a sort of businessman who cuts deals and then refuses to honor his obligations to pay, and rips off his deal partners by not paying what he owes. That’s why he was forced out of business as a developer. That strategy would force the US out of business as a world leader, and that would not be good for America, or the Jews.