Senate votes to confirm Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, with four Democrats backing former Exxon CEO with Putin ties
- The ExxonMobil CEO made it through the Senate on a 56-43 vote Wednesday
- Four Democrats joined Republicans in voting for his confirmation
- Tillerson got unified GOP support, after a trio of Republicans raised concerns about the nominee's connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin
- Was quickly sworn in during a ceremony in the Oval Office, where Trump showered him with praise
- Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the nomination of Jeff Sessions to be attorney general after angry exchanges between Republicans and Democrats
The Republican-led Senate has confirmed Rex Tillerson as President Donald Trump's secretary of state, after early GOP reservations fizzled and a handful of Democrats joined the Republican majority.
Senators voted 56-43 largely along party lines to approve the former ExxonMobil CEO's nomination to be the nation's chief diplomat.
Every Republican voted for him, after early signals of concern about Tillerson's ties to Russia, having negotiated oil deals in that country and had contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Tillerson was quickly sworn in during a ceremony in the Oval Office, where Trump showered him with praise.
Rex Tillerson (pictured center speaking at the White House) was sworn in as President Donald Trump's secretary of state Wednesday after being confirmed by the Senate
Senators voted 56-43 largely along party lines to approve the nomination of the former ExxonMobil CEO (pictured shaking Trump's hand next to his wife Renda St Clair)
Vice-President Mike Pence (center) is pictured preparing to swear in Tillerson (left) as the nation's 69th secretary of state Wednesday in the Oval Office of the White House
'You understand that the job of our diplomats and the mission of the State Department is to serve the interests of the United States of America to make our nation safer, our country more prosperous and our country much more secure,' the president told Tillerson. 'I do believe we can achieve peace and stability in these very, very troubled times.'
Most Senate Democrats opposed Tillerson's nomination, angering Republicans who considered the former Exxon Mobil CEO to be highly qualified for the post.
Senator Ben Cardin, the Foreign Relations Committee's top Democrat, says he feared Tillerson would be a 'yes man' and would not be able to prevent Trump from pursuing a misguided foreign policy that leads the country 'on a march of folly.'
Democrats also said they feared Tillerson's four-decade career at the energy giant meant he'd view the world only through the lens of a corporate executive.
But Republicans had the numbers to push Tillerson's nomination through. Democrats in a previous Congress pushed through a rules change allowing presidential cabinet nominees to get confirmed on a simple majority vote.
They got help from several Democrats who crossed party lines, mostly conservatives from Republican leaning states
Every Republican voted for Tillerson (pictured signing the appointment affidavit) after early signals of concern about his ties to Russia and Vladimir Putin
Democrats also said they feared Tillerson's four-decade career at the energy giant meant he'd view the world only through the lens of a corporate executive (he is pictured being sworn in)
Trump showered Tillerson with praise, saying: 'I do believe we can achieve peace and stability in these very, very troubled times'
Most Senate Democrats opposed Tillerson's nomination, angering Republicans who considered the former Exxon Mobil CEO (pictured Wednesday) to be highly qualified
Tillerson's ties to Russia and his stand on sanctioning Moscow have been a point of contention. He is pictured at the Chairman's Global Dinner in Washington, DC last month
Three Republicans, including Florida Senator Marco Rubio, raised concerns about Tillerson, only to vote for his nomination. Rubio is seen applauding at left as Vice President Mike Pence hugs former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley after filling out paperwork to make her the new U.S. Ambassador to the UN
Republican Senator John McCain (right) of Arizona, also voted for Tillerson. He is pictured next to Democrat Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island last month
The Democrats who backed Tillerson were West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp, Virginia Senator Mark Warner, and independent Senator Angus King of Maine.
Delaware Senator Chris Coons missed the vote.
Tillerson's ties to Russia and his stand on sanctioning Moscow have been a point of contention.
His opponents on Capitol Hill believed he was too cozy with the Russian leader and wouldn't push back aggressively enough when Moscow acted against US interests. Tillerson received an honorific - the Order of Friendship - from Putin's government in 2013.
Among those backing Tillerson were Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who had raised concerns about the nomination when it first got announced.
In a statement announcing his decision to back Tillerson in the Foreign Relations Committee last week, Rubio said cabinet nominees deserve 'significant deference.' But his statement contained plenty of criticism.
'While he condemned Russia for "supporting Syrian forces that brutally violate the laws of war," [Tillerson] refused to publicly acknowledge that Vladimir Putin has committed war crimes,' Rubio said.
'Despite his extensive experience in Russia and his personal relationship with many of its leaders, he claimed he did not have sufficient information to determine whether Putin and his cronies were responsible for ordering the murder of countless dissidents, journalists, and political opponents. He indicated he would support sanctions on Putin for meddling in our elections only if they met the impossible condition that they not affect US businesses operating in Russia,' Rubio continued.
The Florida senator chided Tillerson over the need for 'moral clarity'.
Two other Republicans who had raised concerns, Senator John McCain of Arizona and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, also voted for him.
Democrats tried and failed to persuade Republicans to oppose Tillerson, and tried procedural tactics to no avail.
'This is all an advertisement for a very simple idea — that this is probably the absolute worst time to have the first American President with no government experience and no diplomatic experience pick the first Secretary of State with no government experience and no diplomatic experience,' Democrat Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said according to the Hill.
Maryland Senator Ben Cardin added: 'We need, as the next Secretary of State, a person who is going to be a leader in saying, 'We are going to use every one of our diplomatic tools to isolate Russia if they continue this activity of interfering with our elections.'
Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee said he was confident that Tillerson 'has the ability to be the effective leader the State Department needs.'
Corker cast Tillerson's experience at Exxon Mobil as a plus, saying he led a global enterprise with 75,000 employees and forged 'deep relationships' with world leaders.
Tillerson will grapple with many of the same geopolitical dilemmas his predecessors did. As senators cast their ballots, the Trump White House put Tehran 'on notice' after the Iranian military tested a ballistic missile and allied rebels in Yemen attacked a Saudi naval vessel in the Red Sea.
The former CEO will also have to deal with any fallout stemming from Trump's executive order on immigration and travel that halts entry for 90 days to citizens from seven majority-Muslim nations.
Meanwhile, other Trump cabinet nominees continued to make their way through the confirmation process.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions to be attorney general after angry exchanges between Republicans and Democrats.
The 11-9 vote was along party lines. All the panel's Democrats voted against the nomination.
The Alabama Republican is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate. Republicans have been strongly supportive of their colleague, arguing that he will follow the law and maintain traditional independence from President Trump, if needed.
Democrats have expressed doubts that he would be able to say no to the president since he was one of his earliest and strongest defenders in the presidential campaign.
They also expressed concerns about whether Sessions would be committed to civil rights, a chief priority of the Obama administration.
A spokesman for Andrew Puzder says the Labor secretary-nominee is working to divest his assets so he can take office as part of President Trump's Cabinet.
Puzder says he is 'fully committed to becoming secretary of Labor.'
In a statement to The Associated Press, Puzder says he's looking forward to his confirmation hearing, which has been postponed at least three times.
Spokesman George Thompson says Puzder's work to divest assets is complicated because his fast food empire, CKE Restaurants Inc., is a private company.
The statement comes as Democrats and their allies opposed to Puzder's nomination have raised questions about his fitness for the post.
Puzder still has not turned in the required paperwork detailing his plan to avoid conflicts of interest.
Two Republican senators have announced their opposition to Betsy DeVos for education secretary.
Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska both say they cannot support DeVos, a wealthy Republican donor and school choice activist. Both said in Senate floor speeches Wednesday that DeVos' commitment to the nation's public schools is in question in light of her long-held support for vouchers and charter schools.
If all other GOP senators support DeVos as expected, and all Democrats oppose her, she would end up with a 50-50 vote in the Senate and Vice President Mike Pence would have to break the tie to confirm her.
Democrats temporally thwarted a Senate confirmation vote on President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency by boycotting a key committee meeting.
The seats reserved for the 10 Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee were empty as Wednesday's meeting to discuss to nomination of Scott Pruitt was called to order. Committee rules require that at least two members of the minority party be present for a vote to be held.
Chairman John Barrasso accused the absent Democrats of engaging in obstruction amounting to nothing more than 'political theater.' After recessing, the Wyoming Republican pledged to 'do what is necessary' to advance Pruitt's nomination, raising the possibility the GOP majority may seek a rules change to push the issue to a vote before the full Senate.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4181740/Senate-votes-confirm-Rex-Tillerson-Sec-State.html#ixzz4XXsPcicb
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