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You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition - December 12, 2016
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This is the December 12, 2016, edition of a daily email sent from November 2016 to September 2017 that covered Donald Trump's presidential transition team, potential cabinet appointees, and the different policy positions of those individuals who may have had an effect on the new administration. Previous editions of "You're Hired" can be found here.
Possible nominations and appointments
Rex Tillerson
On November 10, 2016, reports surfaced that President-elect Trump intends to nominate ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state. As of December 12, 2016, the decision had not been finalized, and the reactions below may influence whether Trump goes ahead with the nomination.
Much of the early conversation on Tillerson focused on his ties to Russia. As an executive with ExxonMobil, Tillerson was president of Exxon Neftegas Limited, the portion of the company that runs Exxon’s operations in eastern Russia’s Sakhalin Island. In 2012, he was awarded Russia’s Order of Friendship, one of the highest honors the country bestows upon non-citizens. Speaking with Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday,” Trump described what he sees as Tillerson’s strongest attributes, saying, “And 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, but the company.”
Opinions from the Senate
- Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and himself considered a candidate for secretary of state, tweeted: “If it is Rex Tillerson, he is a very impressive individual.”
- Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), tweeted: “Being a "friend of Vladimir" is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState - MR”
- John McCain (R-Ariz.): “It’s a matter of concern to me that he has such a close relationship with Vladimir Putin, that that would color his approach to Vladimir Putin and the Russian threat.”
- Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.): “I don’t know the man much at all, but let’s put it this way: If you received an award from the Kremlin, ‘the order of friendship,’ then we’re gonna have to do some talkin’. We’ll have some questions. I don’t want to prejudge the guy, but that’s a bit unnerving.”
- Ben Cardin (D-Md.), ranking member of Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on CNN: “I am concerned about his [Mr. Tillerson’s] relationship with Russia. We want to make sure that the secretary of state is a person who represents America.”
- International trade: In a 2012 interview, Tillerson discussed the American security interests around the globe from his perspective as an oil executive. He said that eliminating oil trade between the U.S. and the Middle East “may redefine the priorities of the relationship, but does it fundamentally change the relationship and our interest in the region and our interest in that -- those peoples and their issues?”
- The oil trade: In a 2009 speech, he called for an expansion of free trade: “The need for international cooperation provides another opportunity for government to exercise a unique and positive role – by fostering free trade. We know from history that innovation and economic progress depend on the free flow of goods, services, capital and expertise across borders. By enabling advanced economies and innovative companies to create partnerships, work across borders, and train local populations, government can support the most efficient use of resources and human capital. And as we confront our current economic challenges, Congress must resist the urge to turn its back on these proven policies. The United States cannot afford to raise barriers to trade.”
- Carbon tax: In the same 2009 speech, Tillerson advocated for a global carbon tax, a proposal at odds with the 2016 Republican Party platform. He said, “Finally, there is another potential advantage to the direct-tax, market-cost approach. A carbon tax may be better suited for setting a uniform standard to hold all nations accountable. This last point is important. Given the global nature of the challenge, and the fact that the economic growth in developing economies will account for a significant portion of future greenhouse-gas emission increases, policy options must encourage and support global engagement.”
- Climate change: In 2007, he began working to reduce ExxonMobil’s carbon emissions. In a speech, he said, “While there are a range of possible outcomes, the risk posed by rising greenhouse gas emissions could prove to be significant. So it has been ExxonMobil's view for some time that it is prudent to take action while accommodating the uncertainties that remain.”
John Bolton
Weekend reports also indicated that Trump was looking into former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton as assistant secretary of state. Ballotpedia included Bolton in our secretary of state roundup of potential appointees last week. We noted:
| “ | Bolton was the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006 and is now a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he has written articles criticizing American foreign policy under the Obama administration. In August 2016, Bolton wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, commending Trump’s views on foreign policy. Bolton has described the threat of terrorism as 'fundamentally ideological.' In an article titled 'Next president’s foreign policy priorities' from last month, Bolton wrote that the chief foreign policy issues facing the U.S. are 'radical Islamic terrorism and the Middle East’s spreading chaos.' Other critical issues that Bolton listed were nuclear proliferation, 'Vladimir Putin’s Russia,' China, and 'global governance.' Bolton supported the Iraq War. Last year, he said, 'I still think the decision to overthrow Saddam was correct. I think decisions made after that decision were wrong.' Trump criticized the Iraq War throughout the 2016 campaign. The conservative magazine National Review endorsed Bolton for the secretary of state position and called him 'an American internationalist who believes in the importance of American power.'[1] | ” |
| —You're Hired, December 6 | ||
Bolton made news this weekend when he suggested allegations of Russian hacking during the 2016 elections were politicized by the Obama administration. Speaking with Fox News, Bolton cast doubt on findings that Russia interfered with the presidential election, saying, “Why would Russia leave fingerprints that it was trying to interfere in the election? I can see Russia easily trying to undermine trust and confidence in our political system generally among Americans. But for them to be so inexpert that the trail can rapidly be taken back to them is just hard to understand.”
Some perspectives from former conservative presidential candidates
- Much has been made of Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) opposition to Bolton as a cabinet pick. For almost a month, Paul has said that he would not vote for Bolton. On Sunday he told ABC, “John Bolton doesn’t get it. He still believes in regime change. He’s still a big cheerleader for the Iraq War. … John Bolton is so far out of it and has such a naive understanding of the world.”
- During his presidential campaign, Ted Cruz (R-Texas) named Bolton as the type of person he would potentially appoint to his cabinet, saying, “Look, I'm not in the position right now to be naming cabinet appointments, but I'll tell you, a secretary of state in a Cruz administration would be someone like John Bolton, would be someone who is strong, who defends this country, who stands by our allies and stand up to our enemies.”
- Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) speaking on November 30, 2016: “I am a big John Bolton fan. I am in charge of the State Department’s budget… I don’t have enough people to go in and turn the State Department upside down. John Bolton knows where the bodies are buried at the State Department. We need to make it easier to fire people, we need to make it a more efficient place. I think John Bolton sees the world for what it is, not for what people want it to be so I am a big John Bolton fan.”
- Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor, speaking with Fox News: “Brilliant choice because John not only knows where the bodies are buried, he probably buried a few. And my guess is, knowing John, when he gets there, he’ll bury quite a few more.”
See also
- You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition
- Donald Trump presidential transition team
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- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
