US President-elect Donald Trump’s reported nomination of Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state has prompted concerns among Republicans and Democrats, who accuse Tillerson of having ties with Russia.
Republican Senator John McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Tillerson’s choice was a “matter of concern” to him.
“I don’t know what Mr. Tillerson’s relationship with Vladimir Putin was, but I’ll tell you it is a matter of concern to me,” McCain told Fox News on Saturday, shortly after Tillerson met with the Republican president-elect at Trump Tower, in New York.
According to The New York Times, the transition team was going to offer Tillerson the job this weekend.
The unconfirmed reports drew fire from critics, who had already called into question Tillerson’s businesses with the Russian government.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and environmental group Green Peace also reacted negatively.
“Trump's outrageous pick of Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State demonstrates once again that he lied to the country about draining the swamp, and he's turning the government over to the same Wall Street bankers, Washington insiders and special interests he railed against during the campaign," DNC spokesman Adam Hodge said in a statement.
He said Trump’s choice amounted to another victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin after the election of the New York businessman, who favors cooperation with Moscow.
Under Tillerson’s management, the energy giant Exxon Mobil negotiated a major energy deal with Moscow in 2011, according to the Wall Street Journal. Putin said at the time that the deal could be worth over $500 billion.
A year later, the Russian government awarded Tillerson with the Russian Order of Friendship, one of the country’s most prestigious awards given to foreign nationals.
This is while, according to Reuters, the deal was brought to a halt after Moscow was hit with a set of Western sanctions over US allegations of Russia’s role in the Ukraine conflict.
Exxon Mobil has made it clear that it would resume the project once the sanctions are lifted, a process that could be accelerated in Tillerson’s presence.
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