Senate grills Trump's pick for Secretary of State
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Donald Trump’s choice for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, has faced tough questioning during a Senate confirmation hearing in Washington.
The President’s-elect’s nominee was grilled over his long business relationship with Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin, and what future relationship Washington might have with Moscow.
He said he believed it to be a “fair assumption” that the Russian president was aware of attempts to influence the outcome of the US election. He was also asked whether he considered Putin to be a war criminal, responding that he would not use that term.
The ex-ExxonMobil CEO was also questioned over how effectively he could transform himself from a Big Oil ‘‘dealmaker’‘ to being American’s top diplomat with next-to-no government experience.