WASHINGTON _ The Republican senator who will lead confirmation hearings for Donald Trump's choice for secretary of state said he thinks the expected nominee will play "a very substantial role" in shaping Trump's policies on Russia.
Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also said he expects the Trump nominee to keep intact President Barack Obama's historic accord to limit Iran's ability to build nuclear arms, an agreement the president-elect has vowed to "rip apart."
Corker said the new administration will "radically enforce" the nuclear deal and would clamp down on any violations by Iran.
Corker said he has been favorably impressed by Rex Tillerson, the Exxon Mobil chief executive whom Trump wants to head the state Department. Confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin next Wednesday and could last two days.
He predicted Tillerson will be "overwhelmingly supported" and will win easy confirmation.
Still, Tillerson is expected to face heavy questioning from both Republicans and Democrats about his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and whether he could stand up to Moscow's increasingly assertive operations in the Middle East and elsewhere, as well as its crackdown on political opponents at home.
Trump has repeatedly praised Putin, last week calling him "very smart," and has rejected U.S. intelligence judgments that senior Russian officials directed an intelligence operation that interfered with the U.S. presidential campaign.
Corker, who met with Tillerson this week, said his views on Russia "are not in any way out of the mainstream."
Asked how Tillerson, if he is confirmed, would promote Trump's policies toward Russia, Corker said, "I think he will have a very substantial role in shaping these policies. He will have a big impact."
By doing major oil and gas deals in Russia and in dozens of other countries around the globe, Corker said, Tillerson "knows how (world leaders) think, what causes them to make decisions."
"Oil often exists where autocrats rule," Corker said.
Corker said he was confident that Tillerson, as an experienced CEO, will be granted "huge freedoms" to appoint his own team at the State Department, a process that often sees conflict between incoming secretaries and transition team officials.
Speaking of other foreign trouble spots, Corker said it had become "questionable" whether the United States should continue supporting moderate rebel groups in Syria, a position that puts him in apparent agreement with Trump.
Corker spoke to reporters at a breakfast organized by the Christian Science Monitor.
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