WASHINGTON (AP) — In selecting Exxon
Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state, President-elect
Donald Trump is making the same bet he asked voters to make on him: that
a track record of business accomplishment will translate into success
in government.
Indeed,
Trump, the first billionaire businessman to win the White House, is
broadly testing that proposition across his administration. He's tapped
fast food executive Andy Puzder to lead the Labor Department,
billionaire investor Wilbur Ross for Commerce, financier Steven Mnuchin
as Treasury secretary and Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn as his top
economic adviser.
But he's
taking perhaps his biggest chance on Tillerson, pulling an executive
from the rough-and-tumble world of oil production into the delicate
arena of international diplomacy. If confirmed by the Senate — and his
deep ties to Russia make that no sure thing — Tillerson will be at the
center of discussions over the Syrian civil war, the intractable pursuit
of peace in the Middle East, and potential conflicts with China, given
Trump's early questioning of longstanding U.S. policy toward Beijing.
FILE - In this Friday, March 27, 2015 file
photo, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson delivers remarks on the release of a
report by the National Petroleum Council on oil drilling in the Arctic,
in Washington. President-elect Donald Trump selected Tillerson to lead
the State Department on Monday, Dec. 12, 2016. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci,
File)
To Trump, the deals Tillerson
has struck around the world for Exxon, and the relationships he has
built doing so, are ample preparation for the challenges he would face
as the nation's top diplomat. While Tillerson's ties with Russian
President Vladimir Putin are drawing scrutiny on Capitol Hill, Trump has
had good things to say about Putin, too, and Tillerson's connection
doesn't appear to have given him any pause.
"Rex
knows how to manage a global enterprise, which is crucial to running a
successful State Department, and his relationships with leaders all over
the world are second to none," Trump said Tuesday.
He's
been making a similar case about himself all year as he sought to
persuade voters that a real estate mogul and political novice had the
skills to serve as president. He spent little time trying to show voters
that his skills extended beyond the boardroom. Instead, he argued that
experience was plenty.
As
Trump set about putting his administration together, people close to him
say he was quickly drawn to the idea of elite business leaders filling
the Cabinet, along with those who have had success in areas outside of
politics. He's tapped three retired generals for top jobs: James Mattis
to head the Pentagon, John Kelly for the Department of Homeland Security
and Michael Flynn as his national security adviser.
While
business leaders have served in Cabinet posts under both Republican and
Democratic presidents, the scope of private sector influence in Trump's
burgeoning team is a stark contrast to modern predecessors. Most of
President Barack Obama's Cabinet secretaries had public sector
backgrounds, though Interior Secretary Sally Jewell served as CEO of the
retail company REI and Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald is
the retired CEO of Procter & Gamble.
Some
of Trump's picks have come from a more traditional mold. Among them
will be former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who has been asked by Trump to
lead the Energy Department, according to people with knowledge of the
decision. Trump has also selected a handful of congressional lawmakers
for other top jobs.
But
Trump is said to have been particularly intrigued by the prospect of
breaking the mold with his choice for secretary of state, one of the
most powerful and prominent positions and one that often goes to a
diplomatic veteran.
Tillerson
came to his attention several years ago when he beat back a motion
supported by the Rockefellers — Exxon's founding family — that would
have split the chairman and chief executive position into two different
jobs. The president-elect was drawn to Tillerson's confidence and Texas
swagger, according to people with knowledge of the decision.
"Rex
Tillerson is a very Trumpian-inspired pick because it's somebody who,
like Donald Trump, has a career outside of politics, and he's somebody
who is accustomed to making big deals and translating that into big
impact," said Kellyanne Conway, Trump's senior advisers.
But for some longtime foreign policy hands, Tillerson is an uncomfortable fit.
"Rex
Tillerson has done a fantastic job for Exxon Mobil shareholders," said
Michael McFaul, Obama's former ambassador to Russia. "I am not sure
those same skills qualify him to be secretary of state."
A
native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Tillerson came to Exxon Mobil Corp. as a
production engineer straight out of the University of Texas in 1975 and
never left. Groomed for an executive position, he has held posts in the
company's central U.S., Yemen and Russia operations.
Early
in the company's efforts to gain access to the Russian market,
Tillerson cut a deal with state-owned Rosneft. The neglected post-Soviet
company didn't have a tremendous amount to offer, but Exxon partnered
with it "to be on the same side of the table," Tillerson said, according
to "Private Empire," an investigative history of Exxon by Steve Coll.
