10 Things to Know About Rex Tillerson
Former ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson was confirmed Feb. 1, 2017, as secretary of state. "He will be a forceful and clear-eyed advocate for America's vital national interests,” Trump said in a statement when he nominated him. Tillerson, who was selected for America’s chief diplomat over names like former New York mayor Rudy Guiliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, faced criticism from both Republicans and Democrats due to his deep ties to Russia, but was confirmed in a 56 to 43 vote. Here are 10 things to know about Tillerson, the man who will soon be in charge of American diplomacy around the world:
1. He was at ExxonMobil for four decades.
Tillerson, 64, a Texas native, lived in Irving with his wife. They have four children. He had been employed by ExxonMobil since he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1975. He started as a production engineer and steadily rose up the ranks, becoming president and director of the energy giant in 2004. In 2006, he was tapped as the chairman and CEO of the company. He has brokered oil and gas deals all over the world, including Venezuela, Sudan, and Kurdistan. In 2015, Tillerson ranked no. 20 on Forbes’s list of most powerful people in the world. His salary was $27.3 million (and that's after an 18 percent pay cut) and he had an estimated $218 million in Exxon stock plus and a pension plan valued at about $69.5 million, the Washington Post reports.
2. His business ties with Russia may pose a conflict of interest.
In 2011, ExxonMobil negotiated a multibillion dollar deal with Rosneft, Russia’s state-controlled oil behemoth, that would allow ExxonMobil access to drill in vast, untapped oil deposits in the Russian Arctic. But in 2014, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia after the annexation of Crimea that have yet to be lifted, halting Exxon’s Arctic drilling plans. The New York Times describes the conflict of interest: “The company has billions of dollars in oil contracts that can go forward only if the United States lifts sanctions against Russia, and Mr. Tillerson’s stake in Russia’s energy industry could create a very blurry line between his interests as an oilman and his role as America’s leading diplomat.”
3. And he is close with Vladimir Putin.
In 2013, Putin awarded Tillerson the Order of Friendship, a decoration bestowed upon foreign nationals whose work has helped improve relations between Russia's government and its citizens. His coziness with Putin and Russia - who may have interfered with the U.S. election - has concerned lawmakers like Sen. John McCain and Sen. Marco Rubio. McCain called Putin “a thug, bully and a murderer,” adding, “anybody else who describes him as anything else is lying.” At his confirmation hearing, Rubio asked Tillerson if Putin is a war criminal. “I would not use that term,” Tillerson said.
4. He has no public sector experience.
Though Tillerson surely has extensive experience in international business, he has no experience in public service. In fact, the Washington Post reports that his lack of experience in the public sector is “a first in modern history for a potential secretary of state.” His positions on social issues are mostly unknown, reports the New York Times, meaning it’s unclear how he’ll build alliances with other nations and approach human rights issues around the world. Planned Parenthood issued a statement expressing concern over Tillerson’s nomination, saying, “It is imperative our leaders champion human rights to continue global progress, which is why Planned Parenthood is alarmed to see the nomination of Rex Tillerson, who has an international track record of putting corporate profit over the fundamental rights of people.” On the flip-side, ultra-conservative, anti-LGBT group Family Research Council is worried that Tillerson's policies will be too liberal, saying he may be the "greatest ally liberals have in the Cabinet for their abortion and LGBT agendas."
5. He backed Jeb Bush in the Republican primaries.
Tillerson has donated to the political campaigns of George W. Bush and Mitt Romney. In the 2016 election, he backed Jeb Bush - not Donald Trump. Jeb Bush praised the Tillerson as secretary of state nominee, telling a Tennessee TV station Monday that Tillerson "represents the interests of United States really, really well. But [the Senate] will have the chance to discuss all these things in an opening hearing. That’s how the process works.”
6. He says climate change is real but not an imminent security threat.
Tillerson has previously acknowledged that climate change is real. At a recent shareholder meeting, he said, “We believe that addressing the risk of climate change is a global issue.” However, he also insisted that fossil fuels continue to be the only viable energy source for humans. “The reality is there is no alternative energy source known on the planet or available to us today,” he said. At the same shareholder’s meeting, company shareholders voted against four investor recommendations for addressing climate change. The SEC is currently investigating ExxonMobil over how the company accounts for the cost of climate change when valuing assets and future projects. At his confirmation hearing, Tillerson said, "The risk of climate change does exist, and the consequences could be serious enough that action should be taken" but our ability to predict the effect of greenhouse-gas concentrations on climate is "very limited." He also said of climate change, "I don’t see it as the imminent national security threat that perhaps others do.”
7. He supports the Trans-Pacific partnership.
The trade deal, prioritized by President Barack Obama, removes tariffs on a range of goods and establishes standards on labor and environmental protections among the United states, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Chile, and Peru. Though all 12 nations signed on in February, to go into effect, several nations including the United States and Japan have to ratify the deal by February 2018. Trump has said he does not support the TPP, but Tillerson supports the trade agreement. “The 11 nations that have been working to lower trade barriers and end protectionist policies under this partnership are a diverse mix of developed and developing economies,” he said at a speech for the Asia Global Society in 2013. “But all of them understand the value of open markets to growth and progress for every nation.” The BBC notes that the 12 nations are responsible for 40 percent of the world’s trade.
8. He is a fan of Common Core education.
Tillerson has been a vocal supporter of the Obama administration’s Common Core initiative, a standardized guideline for math and language concepts children should learn throughout grade school. States that adopted the Common Core program received federal and state funding to help build curriculum to achieve the standards. Tillerson criticized his home state, Texas, for being among the handful of states that has not adopted Common Core “I don’t think the [K-12] schools realize that we’re their customer,” he said at a Business Roundtable meeting. “They need to produce students with skills that allow them to get a job. If they don’t, they are essentially producing a defective product. And in this case, the product is a human being. It’s tragic.” His views are at odds with those of Trump, who has called Common Core “a total disaster," and Betsy DeVos, Trump's pick for education secretary.
9. LGBTQ advocates are critical of his record on gay rights.
Tillerson served as a Boy Scout and Eagle Scout, and later served as the national president of the Boy Scouts of America from 2010 to 2011. The New York Times notes that though the organization did not accept gay members during his tenure, as a member of the executive board, Tillerson voted in 2013 to lift the ban. However, the Human Rights Campaign has voiced concern over gay rights under Tillerson's appointment, noting that ExxonMobil has been very slow to adopt LGBTQ-inclusive policies.
10. He did not originally want to be secretary of state.
Tillerson revealed that he did not originally want the role during an interview with Independent Journal Review’s Erin McPike, the only journalist allowed to cover Tillerson's recent trip to Asia. He said, "I didn’t want this job. I didn’t seek this job." An aide then asked him why he said yes, and Tillerson replied, "My wife told me I’m supposed to do this."
He went on to explain that he had never met Trump before the election, though when he was president-elect, Trump asked to talk with Tillerson "about the world." At the end of their conversation, he asked Tillerson to be secretary of state.
McPike reported that Tillerson said, "I was supposed to retire in March, this month. I was going to go to the ranch to be with my grandkids."
This article was originally published Dec. 16, 2016, and has been updated.
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