In the vote, 56 senators backed Tillerson, and 43 voted no. The tally was largely along party lines, with every Republican favoring Tillerson, along with four members of the Democratic caucus, Senators Heidi Heitkamp, Joe Manchin and Mark Warner as well as Angus King, an independent.
Senate Democrats had tried, but failed, to delay the vote because of Trump’s executive order banning immigration from seven mostly Muslim countries and temporarily halting the entry of refugees.
They said they wanted to ask Tillerson more questions about the issue after Trump signed the order on Friday.
Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas raised concerns about Russia’s role in the world saying, "If there’s one thing that I think President Trump has done right is select good people."
Democrat Martin Heinrich of New Mexico also raised concerns about Russia as he signaled he would not support Tillerson. "How on earth can we trust someone with such a cozy relationship with the Putin government to be our secretary of state?"
Some senators faulted Tillerson for failing to promise to recuse himself from matters related to Exxon Mobil businesses for his entire term as secretary of state rather than only the one year required by law.
التعليقات (0)