Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson has emerged as the leading candidate for secretary of state in a Donald Trump administration but two top Republican Senators warned that his nomination could face intense scrutiny due to the veteran oil executive’s close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The final announcement is expected to be made in the middle of this week. If nominated by the US President-elect, 64-year-old Tillerson would be quite an unusual selection to the top post of America’s top diplomat.
Tillerson, is currently on top of the list of Trump’s Secretary of State because of his contacts with the world leaders, in particular Russian President Putin, US media said.
Tillerson, who met with Trump in New York on Saturday, is considered one of the faces of Big Oil globally.
Transition officials, however cautioned that Trump has not made a final decision yet. However in an interview to Fox News, Trump praised the Exxon Mobil CEO.
“He’s more than a business executive; he’s a
world-class player. He’s in charge of I guess the largest company in the world,” Trump told Fox News.
“To me, a great advantage is he knows many of the players, and he knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia. He does massive deals for the company — not for himself, for the company,” he added.
Will order probe into visa abuses: Trump
Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump has said that one of his first executive orders after assuming office would be to order investigation into all visas abuses that undermine jobs for the American worker, indicating that foreigner workers, including Indians, may face tough scrutiny under his administration.
While Trump did not identify or name any particular visa abuse, lawmakers for the past few years have expressed concern over abuse of H-1B visas by companies.