WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (UPI) — Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, who has longstanding ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, is expected to be offered the position of secretary of state over Mitt Romney and Jon Hunstman, according to reports.
The New York Times and NBC News both cited two people close to President-elect Donald Trump‘s transition team as saying Tillerson is expected to be offered the position during the weekend.
Earlier this week, multiple reports stated Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, was the strongest remaining candidate for Trump’s secretary of state.
Romney, who has a home in Holladay and is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was previously one of Trump’s harshest critics, slamming him as a “con man,” a “phony” and “a fraud” in an eviscerating speech last March before Trump clinched the Republican nomination.
The president-elect discussed Romney’s prospects in an interview Wednesday with NBC’s “Today” show.
“I’ve spoken to him a lot. We’ve come a long way together,” Trump said. “We had some tremendous difficulty together and now I think we’ve come a long way. But the answer is yes, he does.”
Huntsman’s name was added to the shortlist at a later stage, and it’s unclear whether he met with Trump in person.
Trump spokesman Jason Miller tweeted Saturday that no official announcement of a secretary of state selection is expected until “next week at the earliest.”
Tillerson has faced criticism over his lack of a background in diplomacy and his business ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he has known for more than 20 years. Putin awarded Tillerson the Order of Friendship in 2013, one year before the annexation of Crimea led to a diplomatic rift between Moscow and Washington.
Trump explained his rationale for considering Tillerson in an interview with “Fox News Sunday.”
“Well in his case he’s much more than a business executive, I mean he’s a world class player. He’s in charge of I guess the largest company in the world,” Trump told Fox’s Chris Wallace. “He’s in charge of an oil company that’s pretty much double the size of his next nearest competitor. It’s been a company that’s been unbelievably managed. And to me a great advantage is he knows many players, and he knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia. He does massive deals , for the company, not for himself, for the company.”
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Tillerson’s ties to Putin would need to be examined before a potential confirmation.
“I don’t know what Mr. Tillerson’s relationship with Vladimir Putin was, but I’ll tell you it is a matter of concern to me,” McCain told Fox News. “Vladimir Putin is a thug, bully and a murderer, and anybody else who describes him as anything else is lying.”
