Editorial Board

Trump's Secretary of State Pick Gets Climate Change

Will Exxon Mobil’s chief executive be able to change Trump’s view of the Paris accord?

December 14, 2016 at 1:00 PM UTC

By The Editorial Board

The Editorial Board publishes the views of the editors across a range of national and global affairs.

Which will Tillerson put first?
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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If Richard Nixon could go to China, can Rex Tillerson save Paris? It is but one of many questions, some more answerable than others, about President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for secretary of state.

Unlike the president-elect, Tillerson, the chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corp., supports both the global climate-change accord forged in Paris last year and a carbon tax. So the main question for Tillerson may be this: How will he manage his relationship with his new boss?