Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson is \u201cthe right person at the right time\u201d to be America\u2019s top diplomat, particularly when it comes to navigating the increasingly complex relationship between Washington and Moscow.
\u201cThis new administration must thread the needle between pushing back against Vladimir Putin\u2019s aggressions, meddling, interventionism and bullying and at the same time, stop a dangerous downward spiral in our relationship with Russia,\u201d Mr. Gates said at the start of Mr. Tillerson \u2019s Senate confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill.
\u201cI believe Mr. Tillerson is the right person at the right time to help accomplish both of those goals,\u201d Mr. Gates said.
He and a small group of others, including Texas Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, and former Sen. Sam Nunn, a Democrat from Georgia, introduced Mr. Tillerson at the opening of Wednesday\u2019s hearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
Issues relating to Russia were expected to dominate the proceedings, with lawmakers likely to push Mr. Tillerson , who was CEO of ExxonMobil from 2006 through earlier this year and has a long history of relations with high-level Russian officials, to explain his views on the way forward between Washington and Moscow.
He\u2019s expected to get a grilling from Democrats on the question of how he plans to prevent the interests of Exxon \u2014 a multibillion-dollar oil giant that works in more than 50 countries \u2014 from influencing his decision-making as secretary of state.
In a version of Mr. Tillerson \u2019s opening statement, released Tuesday night, the nominee said he believes Russia \u201cposes a danger\u201d and is a cause for alarm among many American allies. But he also said it was the U. S. retreating from the world stage that left an opening for Mr. Putin\u2019s resurgent policies.
The nominee said it will take careful analysis and diplomacy to handle the ambitious nation.
\u201cWhere cooperation with Russia based on common interests is possible, such as reducing the global threat of terrorism, we ought to explore these options. Where important differences remain, we should be steadfast in defending the interests of America and her allies,\u201d his statement said. \u201cRussia must know that we will be accountable to our commitments and those of our allies, and that Russia must be held to account for its actions.\u201d
Mr. Tillerson also said China poses both opportunities and challenges, and said the world must be \u201chonest\u201d about the threat from radical Islam, and said defeating the Islamic State is more important than settling simmering issues in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.
\u201cThere are competing priorities in this region which must be and will be addressed, but they must not distract from our utmost mission of defeating ISIS,\u201d he said, using an acronym for the Islamic State. \u201cWhen everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. Defeating ISIS must be our foremost priority in the Middle East.\u201d
Democrats are also expected to grill Mr. Tillerson over his views on climate change and the incoming Trump administration\u2019s plans to change or renounce the 2015 global Paris Climate Accord. Outgoing Secretary of State John F. Kerry spent years pushing for the agreement and made the battle against climate change a central thrust of his tenure as America\u2019s top diplomat.
A smattering of about 100 protesters snaked through the park outside the Dirkson Senate Office Building prior to the start of Wednesday\u2019s hearing. Some wore dinosaur costumes. Others carried signs reading \u201cInvestigate Exxon.\u201d The entire group chanted, \u201cHey, hey, ho, Tillerson must go.\u201d
As Mr. Gates later worked his way into the hearing room, a man dressed in a flashy suit with green dollar bills printed on it snorted, \u201cwar criminal,\u201d loud enough for everyone to hear.
Later, as the hearing got underway, a chant could be heard from the hallway outside, where protesters shouted, \u201creject Rex , reject Rex , reject Rex .\u201d
\u2022 Stephen Dinan contributed to this report.
Copyright \u00a9 2017 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
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