The Senate confirmation hearing for Donald Trump’s secretary of state nominee, Rex Tillerson, which began Wednesday morning and is scheduled to continue Thursday, is likely to take the title of the most fascinating of the parade of hearings. Tillerson fielded questions from senators, speaking from a background that includes no formal government or diplomatic experience. He was until last week Exxon’s chief executive.
Tillerson’s conduct as the head of the oil giant, his business dealings in Russia and his relationship with President Vladimir Putin were the subject of the first day of pointed questions from both Senate Democrats and Republicans.
Because the secretary of state is in charge of the nation’s climate diplomacy, Tillerson also faced questions about Exxon’s history of climate change research and funding of denial, and how his support for the Paris climate agreement meshes with Trump’s promise to “cancel” it.
Follow our live updates from ICN journalists John H. Cushman Jr., Neela Banerjee and Marianne Lavelle here.
As a primer, read ICN’s coverage of Tillerson and Exxon’s climate history:
- Rex Tillerson’s Record on Climate Change: Rhetoric Vs. Reality
- Exxon’s Chief as Secretary of State Puts Climate Diplomacy in Oil Magnate’s Hands
- Exxon’s Support of a Tax on Carbon: Rhetoric or Reality?
- Exxon: The Road Not Taken
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