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Tillerson confirmation wrap-up: Senate should reject his nomination

The Tillerson confirmation hearing reminded me at times of hearings for Supreme Court justices in that Tillerson refused to answer the vast majority of questions about his views or what he would do as Secretary of State. At the same time, he gave plenty of evidence that he would be a disastrous Secretary of State. Here are some specific pieces that jumped out:

1. Tillerson claimed that Exxon did not lobby against sanctions in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Sen. Corker interrupted to note that, actually, Tillerson had called him personally to discuss sanctions. When Sen. Menendez later confronted Tillerson with records showing that Exxon lobbied on the sanctions, Tillerson still claimed ignorance, saying he didn’t even know whether the company would have lobbied for or against the sanctions. This is damning for Tillerson because there are only two possibilities: Either he is lying, or he is a shockingly poor manager – someone who was unaware of his company’s position on an issue of enormous importance, sanctions that compromised a $500 billion oil exploration deal. AP did a good fact check on his statements.

2. On climate change:

Tillerson continued to dispute and deny settled climate science, claiming to Sen. Markey that it’s “inconclusive” that climate change makes extreme weather more likely.

Sen. Kaine set out to grill Tillerson on climate denial — and particularly allegations that Exxon knew fossil fuels cause global warming as early as the 1970s and yet to this day is funding groups that deny and cast doubt on climate science. He quickly hit a dead end because Tillerson simply refused to answer whether those allegations are true or false. His first line was that he no longer works for Exxon and the question would have to be put to them. When Sen. Kaine asked, “Do you lack the knowledge to answer my question, or are you refusing to answer my question?” Tillerson responded, “A little bit of both.”

Tillerson refused to say that the U.S. should be an international leader on climate. He said only that we should keep “a seat at the table.”

In response to Sen. Shaheen’s question about complying with international agreements to end subsidies for fossil fuels, Tillerson said he wasn’t aware of any U.S. fossil fuel subsidies. Only tax code provisions that apply to all industries. Another place he strangely lacks key knowledge about his own company and industry.

Tillerson told Sen. Markey that he doesn’t think climate change is an imminent security threat. That might be the most disqualifying thing he said all day. We can’t have a Secretary of State who doesn’t take seriously the most terrible threat to U.S. security.

3. Tillerson refused to answer countless questions about bad international actors — for example whether Putin is a war criminal for bombing civilians in Syria and whether Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s well-documented extrajudicial killings constitute human rights violations. He dodged every question, no matter how well-known the underlying facts, by saying he needed access to classified government information before he could render a judgment. I don’t recall a single instance in which Tillerson was willing to say that someone has engaged in human rights abuses or is war criminal. It’s not my area of expertise, but I thought he come across as ill-informed (if not simply unconcerned about serious problems in the world) and overly reliant on a pre-fabricated dodge that was often a poor fit for the question he was being asked.