The oilman who brought Trump and the Bush world together
WASHINGTON — Throughout the presidential campaign, the Bush family and many of its Republican allies turned their backs on Donald Trump. Now, they’re finding common cause with Trump over his pick to lead the State Department: Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, who has long orbited their same political, philanthropic and business worlds.
Former President George W. Bush, who has largely avoided politics since leaving office in 2009, heaped praise on Tillerson in a recent phone call to Sen. Bob Corker, the Tennessee lawmaker who will oversee the secretary of state confirmation hearings. Jeb Bush, Tillerson’s preferred candidate in the 2016 race, called the Exxon executive a “good man and accomplished leader.”
Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and Robert Gates — Bush’s vice-president, secretary of state and secretary of defence — have all offered glowing endorsements. Gates, who runs a consulting firm with Rice that represents Exxon, first put Tillerson on Trump’s radar when the president-elect was dissatisfied with his more conventional options.
Despite the high-level backing, Tillerson faces obstacles in his path to Foggy Bottom. He has no government experience, having spent his whole career at Exxon. Senators in both parties have raised questions about his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a relationship that’s particularly eye-catching given uncertainty about Trump’s own connections to Russia.