The Financial Times reports Tillerson Gets Rough Ride from Russia Hawks on the Hill.
The rough ride was from Senator John McCain, Senator Marco Rubio, and Senator Lindsey Graham.
Rex Tillerson, Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state, faced a tough grilling over his relationship with Russia and its president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, while also stumbling on whether ExxonMobil had lobbied against Russian sanctions.
Mr Tillerson faced pointed questions from Marco Rubio, a Republican member of the Senate foreign relations committee, who several times said he found some of Mr Tillerson’s answers “troubling” and “discouraging”.
Leaving the committee hearing into Mr Tillerson’s nomination, Mr Rubio told reporters he was “prepared to do what is right” in regards to confirming or blocking Mr Tillerson’s appointment, leaving open the possibility that he could be leaning towards the latter.
In addition to Mr Rubio, two other Republican senators — John McCain and Lindsey Graham — have also stated that they have concerns about Mr Tillerson’s relationship with Mr Putin.
All I Need to Know
That’s about all I need to know. Anyone the collective neocon trio of McCain, Graham, and Rubio is displeased with, is assuredly a better choice than someone they like.
Rubio Makes Ass Out of Himself
During the hearing, Mr Rubio showed the committee a list of political opponents of Mr Putin who had died, grilling Mr Tillerson on whether those individuals had been killed on the orders of the Russian president, and whether Mr Putin should be classified as a war criminal.
When Mr Tillerson replied that he needed more access to classified information to form a judgment, Mr Rubio shot back: “None of this is classified, Mr Tillerson. These people are dead.”
If there is information, not allegations that Putin killed those people, let’s see it.
Tillerson’s non-rush-to-judgment is precisely what the US needs as Secretary of State.
His responses weren’t perfect. But no one else’s would have been either.
Drain the Swamp
The sooner the US rids itself of neocons like McCain, Graham, and Rubio, the better off the US will be, and the safer the world will be.
— Mike “Mish” Shedlock (@MishGEA) January 12, 2017
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
