U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has recused himself from State Department deliberations on granting a permit to TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline, heading off conflict-of-interest concerns over a project he praised when he was chief of Exxon Mobil Corp.
Tillerson had recused himself in February, the State Department acknowledged Thursday in a letter responding to Greenpeace USA’s demand that he do so. He has “committed to full compliance with his ethics obligations,” according to the the response, which was signed by the State Department’s deputy legal adviser, Katherine McManus.
