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Donald Trump reportedly will name ExxonMobil CEO with Russian ties as secretary of state

He has ties to Vladimir Putin.

 

Josh Katzowitz

Tech

Posted on Dec 10, 2016   Updated on May 25, 2021, 10:06 am CDT

After flirting with Mitt Romney last month and after watching Rudy Guiliani take himself out of consideration on Friday, President-elect Donald Trump reportedly will make ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson his new secretary of state.

According to NBC, the new nominee could be announced next week, and former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton would be the deputy secretary of state.

“It’s an unusual pairing of a corporate CEO who has no experience in government or in diplomacy and has spent his entire career in the energy sector,” said NBC’s Andrea Mitchell. “But he is someone who has wide global experience. Some of it would be controversial because of his close relationship in Russia with Vladimir Putin. They’ve had a longstanding business relationship.”

Yes, the internet happened to notice that. Particularly since there were multiple reports Friday night about how Russia affected the 2016 presidential election and actually helped Trump win.

https://twitter.com/HawkinsUSA/status/807661609405612032

https://twitter.com/ReformedBroker/status/807655104237146113

And this tweet came Friday from a John McCain confidante.

It sounds like the vetting process for Tillerson will be a tough one.

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*First Published: Dec 10, 2016, 4:31 pm CST