WASHINGTON _ President-elect Donald Trump will announce Tuesday that he plans to nominate Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson as the next U.S. secretary of State, a person familiar with the decision said.
The nomination is sure to spark a high-profile fight in the U.S. Senate, where three Republicans and several Democrats have already expressed public misgivings about making Tillerson, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin going back about two decades, the nation's top diplomat.
Tillerson, who hits Exxon's mandatory retirement age of 65 in March, has accepted Trump's offer, according to another person familiar with the transition. He would be the first oil executive to lead the State Department.
Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida are among those who have questioned Tillerson's dealings with Putin. Rubio sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, where he could join with Democrats on the panel to block Tillerson's nomination from reaching the Senate floor, should they feel his Russia connections aren't adequately resolved.
"Being a 'friend of Vladimir' is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState," Rubio said in a tweet on Sunday that was signed with his initials.
Confirmation hearings also may become a proxy fight over Trump's position that Putin is an effective leader with whom he can reach agreements, a stance widely unpopular among lawmakers in both parties. Added to the mix is a looming inquiry into Russian meddling in the presidential election. The Washington Post reported on Friday that the CIA has told senators that Putin's government was actively seeking to help Trump win the election _ a step beyond an earlier finding that the goal was to undermine the credibility of the U.S. political process.
President Barack Obama has ordered a full review of the evidence of Russian hacking. Trump has rejected the idea that Russia has been pinpointed as the source of the hacks of Democratic Party servers.
David Mortlock, a former director of international economic affairs on Obama's National Security Council, said a Tillerson nomination would extend a trend of the U.S. pursuing "economic statecraft" that began under Hillary Clinton _ whom Trump defeated in the presidential contest _ when she was secretary of State.
"It ironically continues something that really started in the Clinton State Department which is economic statecraft and the fact that U.S. CEOs, U.S. companies have been some of our best diplomats overseas and the U.S. brand is an important part of U.S. diplomacy and U.S. representation," Mortlock said.
Kellyanne Conway, a top Trump adviser, said Friday on Fox News that those who were considered by Trump also included Alan Mulally, the former CEO of Ford Motor Co.; former CIA Director David Petraeus, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican.
Trump on Monday called former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, whom he interviewed earlier for the post, to tell him he wasn't getting the job, according to one of the people familiar with the matter, who all spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement isn't official. Romney acknowledged Monday night on Facebook that he's not the pick.
"It was an honor to have been considered for Secretary of State of our great country," Romney said in his Facebook post. "My discussions with President-elect Trump have been both enjoyable and enlightening. I have very high hopes that the new administration will lead the nation to greater strength, prosperity and peace."
