Senate committee approves Tillerson for Secretary of State

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Monday voted in favor of sending the nomination of former ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State to the full Senate with a recommendation of approval.

The vote was 11-10, according to CNN.

Earlier on Monday, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) announced that he would support Tillerson, removing the last significant stumbling block to the nomination.

A similar announcement came on Sunday from Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who confirmed they would vote in favor of Tillerson after previously expressing concern over his ties to Russia.

A final confirmation vote on the Senate floor is expected next week, leadership aides from each party told CNN.

During the vote, Rubio said that he still had reservations about Tillerson, but looked favorably on Tillerson’s support for NATO and his recognition that “Russia’s claims on Crimea are illegitimate.”

 

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