Senate Confirms Rex Tillerson As Secretary Of State In Narrow Vote

Hundreds of American diplomats have signed a document criticizing President Trump's travel ban on people from seven majority Muslim nations. The Senate confirmed Trump's secretary of state on Wednesday. </s> Rex Tillerson, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State was confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday afternoon by a vote of 56 to 43, according to The New York Times.

The former CEO of oil conglomerate ExxonMobil, was cleared for a full Senate vote on January 23, after the majority led Republican Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to advance his nomination.

Tillerson’s confirmation comes amid high tensions between republicans and democrats embroiled in contentious battles over Trump’s cabinet picks.

The newly appointed Secretary of State will take on a heavy weight concerning national security and immigration. Last Friday, Trump signed an executive order which barred citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S., causing outrage and worldwide demonstrations.

Just one week prior to Tillerson’s confirmation, several top officials in the State Department were reportedly asked to leave their positions and accused the Trump administration of fear mongering.

Trump Reveals Views On Diversity With Whitest Male-Dominated Cabinet In Over 30 Years </s> Rex Tillerson confirmed to be secretary of state

WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Rex Tillerson Wednesday to be secretary of state by a vote of 56-43. The former ExxonMobil chief executive was criticized by Democrats and Republicans because of his alleged closed ties to top Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin. But in the end, all Republicans voted for his confirmation, as did four members of the Democratic caucus. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-led Senate has confirmed Rex Tillerson as President Donald Trump's secretary of state. Senators voted 56-43 largely along party lines to approve Tillerson's nomination to be the nation's chief diplomat.

Most Senate Democrats opposed Tillerson's nomination, angering Republicans who considered the former Exxon Mobil CEO to be highly qualified for the post. Tillerson's ties to Russia had been a point of contention.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> The Republican-led Senate has confirmed Rex Tillerson as President Donald Trump's secretary of state.Senators voted 56-43 largely along party lines to approve Tillerson's nomination to be the nation's chief diplomat.Most Senate Democrats opposed Tillerson's nomination, angering Republicans who considered the former Exxon Mobil CEO to be highly qualified for the post.Sen. Ben Cardin, the Foreign Relations Committee's top Democrat, says he feared Tillerson would be a "yes man" and would not be able to prevent Trump from pursuing a misguided foreign policy that leads the country "on a march of folly."But Republicans had the numbers to push Tillerson's nomination through. They got help from several Democrats who crossed party lines.Tillerson's ties to Russia and his stand on sanctioning Moscow have been a point of contention. </s> Former Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson has been confirmed as Secretary of State in a 56 to 43 vote, receiving the most down votes ever for a Secretary of State nominee. Tillerson, who has worked at an oil company for his entire adult life, has deep ties to Russia and was less than enthusiastic about the Paris Climate Agreement at his hearing. Tillerson will run a State Department purged of its top leadership, and faces a dissent memo with 1,000 signatures. </s> The Senate has narrowly confirmed Mike Pompeo to be secretary of state.

The outgoing CIA director secured support from 57 senators, with 42 voting no and one senator absent. It’s one of the slimmest margins for the job in recent history. Every past nominee since at least the Carter administration has received 85 or more yes votes, with the exception of Trump’s first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson. He got 56 yes votes.

Pompeo is a former Republican congressman from Kansas. He is expected to be sworn in almost immediately so he can begin serving as top diplomat.

Pompeo has been deeply engaged in the administration’s efforts on North Korea and recently traveled to Pyongyang. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) –The Republican-led Senate has confirmed Rex Tillerson as President Donald Trump’s secretary of state.

Senators voted 56-43 largely along party lines to approve Tillerson’s nomination to be the nation’s chief diplomat.

Most Senate Democrats opposed Tillerson’s nomination, angering Republicans who considered the former Exxon Mobil CEO to be highly qualified for the post.

Sen. Ben Cardin, the Foreign Relations Committee’s top Democrat, says he feared Tillerson would be a “yes man” and would not be able to prevent Trump from pursuing a misguided foreign policy that leads the country “on a march of folly.”

But Republicans had the numbers to push Tillerson’s nomination through. They got help from several Democrats who crossed party lines.

Tillerson’s ties to Russia and his stand on sanctioning Moscow have been a point of contention.

Keep checking NBC4i.com for real-time updates on this story. To get alerts for breaking news, grab the free NBC4 News App for iPhone or Android. You can also sign up for email alerts. </s> The US Senate has confirmed Rex Tillerson as the new secretary of state in the Trump administration. The 64-year-old former ExxonMobil CEO will also serve as a National Security Council member.

President Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state was approved by a vote of 56-43 on Wednesday.

Among the 56 votes for Tillerson were Angus King (I-Maine) and three Democrats – Mark Warner of Virginia, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. Senator Chris Coons (D-Delaware) did not vote.

On January 23, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 11-10 in favor of approving Tillerson to the nation's top diplomatic post.

Ahead of the committee vote, Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) called Democrats' opposition to Tillerson "a proxy" for their political differences with President Trump.

Opposition to Tillerson has largely focused on his former company's positions pertaining to climate change – and his business ties with Russia, accused by the Democrats of "hacking the election" in favor of Trump.

During the confirmation hearings earlier this month, Tillerson said that "Russia seeks respect and relevance on the global stage," though "its recent activities have disregarded American interests.”

The former CEO also took a hard line on Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea, saying they were as illegal as "Russia taking Crimea" from Ukraine.

While he said that he felt the human impact on climate change could not be quantified, Tillerson did testify to the Senate that “The risk of climate change does exist.”

"The consequences could be serious enough that action should be taken,” he added.

Nearly 1,000 State Department officials have put their signatures to a “dissent channel” memo condemning Trump’s executive order to temporarily suspend the admission of Syrian refugees and restrict admission of travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Asked whether Tillerson will meet with them and hear their concerns, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the new secretary “has a very open mind,” but did not backtrack from Monday’s statement that officials who dislike the administration’s policy can “either get with the program or they can go.”
The United States Senate, in a 56–43 vote, confirms Rex Tillerson's nomination as United States Secretary of State.