Sen. Jack Reed questions Trump’s Kanye meeting, Tillerson choice
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said Donald Trump’s choice of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state, as well as his Tuesday meeting with Kanye West raise concerns about the president-elect’s commitment to serving the American people.
“The American public has to understand, has to know that his sole motivation is the benefit of the American people and the interest of the United States and nothing else,” Reed told Yahoo News and Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga on Tuesday.
“First, it’s essential that the president-elect clarify his business dealings,” Reed said, suggesting that Trump’s decision to meet with West instead of delivering his scheduled press conference about plans to separate himself from his businesses “raises the possibility that he will focus on things that are not central to the needs of the American public.”
Reed added that it’s also “very disconcerting to hear that Trump is reportedly forgoing daily intelligence briefings.”
Trump brushed off such concerns during an interview that aired last weekend, telling Fox News’ Chris Wallace that he’s a “smart person” who doesn’t need daily updates. Trump said gets the briefings when there’s critical new information.
Reed is a member of the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence and one of four bipartisan senators who recently called for a congressional investigation of Russia’s reported meddling in the recent presidential election.
Reed said Trump’s choice to nominate Tillerson “once again raises the issue of the relationship of this administration with Russia.” Tillerson has received the Order of Friendship award from Russia.
“When you appoint someone who has very close dealings with Putin personally,” he continued, “it suggests that they’re not properly taking into consideration the demonstrative behavior of the Russian government.”
As secretary of state, Reed argued, Tillerson would need to “lay out a very serious agenda of how he and the president are going to confront the provocations that the Russians seem more and more intent on presenting, not just to the United States but to Europe and to our allies.”
