Trump ‘Very Close’ on Secretary of State, Lauds Tillerson
- Past ties to Russia may aid administration’s Moscow outreach
- President-elect said to be ready to announce pick next week
Is Exxon CEO Tillerson the Next Secretary of State?
This article is for subscribers only.
President-elect Donald Trump said he’s “very, very close” to naming his secretary of state, and lauded front-runner Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson in an interview broadcast Sunday as “a world-class player.”
A person close to the presidential transition said Trump has not formally offered Tillerson the job yet but is likely to do so, in a move that would hand top diplomatic powers to a man whose ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin go back almost two decades. An announcement is expected in the next few days, according to the person, who asked not to be identified discussing internal deliberations. Tillerson met with Trump for more than two hours on Saturday.