Rex W. Tillerson, left, meeting with Vladimir Putin in 2012. (Wikimedia Commons)
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Although initial reports made it seem likely that President-elect Donald Trump would choose former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney as his secretary of state, news broke Saturday that Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, 64, has become the front-runner for the position.
Tillerson, of Wichita Falls, Texas, has already notified his corporate board about taking on the new role, sources told NBC News. He is set to retire from ExxonMobil next year since the company has a mandatory retirement age of 65, Reuters reported.
He has never previously worked in government, but reportedly holds conservative political views.
Tillerson has made tens of thousands of dollars worth of political donations over the past two decades to Republican groups and candidates, including to President George W. Bush … according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Tillerson backed Jeb Bush during the GOP presidential primary and did not donate to Trump’s campaign.
Little is known about where he stands on foreign policy, and as secretary of state, he would have to hit the ground running on major issues. Among them: handling the nuclear agreement with Iran that the Obama administration made in 2015; the sanctions imposed on Russia; disputes with China and North Korea; the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria; and rebuilding Afghanistan and Iraq.
Read the full report here.
—Posted by Emma Niles