In December, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Exxon Mobil Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson to be his secretary of state, a position that will be responsible for overseeing the nation’s foreign and diplomatic affairs. On Wednesday, Congress will commence Tillerson’s confirmation hearing.
Tillerson has spent the last 42 years working for Exxon Mobil – if confirmed, he would be the first secretary of state in the modern era with no formal government or foreign policy experience.
Meanwhile, Tillerson has remarkably close relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as Igor Sechin, the head of the Russian state-owned oil giant, Rosneft – both Putin and Sechin are former KGB agents. Tillerson supports dropping U.S. sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, which would bring billions of dollars in deals for Exxon Mobil. With Tillerson at the helm, Exxon Mobil successfully lobbied against a bill that would make it more difficult for a future president to lift Russian sanctions.
Under Tillerson’s leadership, Exxon Mobil has also courted some of the world’s most despotic regimes. As CEO, Tillerson spent years forging relationships with governments that have engaged in human rights abuses, including Russia, China, Chad, and Equatorial Guinea. Additionally, through a European subsidiary while Tillerson was a top executive, Exxon Mobil conducted business with Iran, Syria, and Sudan while these countries were under U.S. sanctions for state sponsored terrorism.
If confirmed, Tillerson would have a massive number of potential conflicts of interest. Tillerson has at least $280 million at stake in Exxon Mobil, much of which is held in stock options that will not mature for several years. As secretary of state, Tillerson will have to negotiate on behalf of the United States with the roughly 200 countries in which Exxon Mobil operates.
The existence of human-caused climate change and its destructive effects on the American people and countries around the world are beyond dispute. Tillerson himself has recognized that “the risks of climate change are real and require serious action.” He has, however, made light of climate threats, claiming that climate change is a mere “engineering problem.” Exxon Mobil, for its part, knew about climate change as early as the 1970s. Yet the company and Tillerson have aggressively fought efforts to combat the problem. Exxon is well known for being under investigation for deceiving the public and investors about climate threats. It is also notable that the company has funneled millions of dollars to groups that deny or spread misinformation about climate science. Exxon supported such groups with nearly $2 million in 2015 alone.
The secretary of state is America’s representative to the rest of the world – whoever holds that position must be beholden only to the citizens of the United States. Congress should reject Rex Tillerson’s nomination to be America’s chief diplomat.
Video Credit: This video was made by Andrew Satter and Carolyn Kenney. Andrew Satter is the Director of Video at the Center for American Progress. Carolyn Kenney is a Research Associate with the National Security and International Policy team at the Center.
