Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham may have had their doubts but they are ready to vote in favor of former ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson to be the next secretary of state. That, in short, means his confirmation is all but assured. “After careful consideration, and much discussion with Mr. Tillerson, we have decided to support his nomination to be Secretary of State,” McCain and Graham said in a statement. “Though we still have concerns about his past dealings with the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin, we believe that Mr. Tillerson can be an effective advocate for U.S. interests.”
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is now the only Republican in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who appears to still have doubts about whether to vote in favor of Tillerson. The Republicans have a one-vote majority in the committee so Rubio’s vote will be key. But even if he votes against Tillerson, his confirmation vote can then move on to the full Senate. “It appears highly unlikely now that Tillerson will lose the three or more Republican votes that could have scuttled his nomination,” notes Politico.
Speaking on ABC’s This Week, McCain said that while he still has questions about Tillerson, he thinks the right thing to do is vote in his favor. “Listen, this wasn’t an easy call. But I also believe that when there’s doubt the president, the incoming president, gets the benefit of the doubt, and that’s the way I’ve treated every president that I’ve had the obligation to vote for or against as a member of the United States Senate,” McCain said.
Graham told CBS’ Face the Nation that his initial concerns were eased when he met one-on-one with Tillerson. “In my office visit he said that when America doesn’t lead other people will and the vacuum is always filled by bad actors,” Graham said. “He said that we have to have a foreign policy that engages the world, we need to lead from the front.”
The Senate Foreign Relations committee is expected to vote on Tillerson’s nomination Monday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expressed confidence that all of Trump’s Cabinet nominees will be confirmed. “I believe we’ll be able to confirm the president’s entire Cabinet,” McConnell said on Fox News Sunday. “I’m optimistic.” Considering Republicans hold 52 seats in the Senate and Cabinet nominees just need a majority vote to obtain confirmation, it seems to be a pretty safe bet.
So far, the Senate has confirmed retired Gen. James Mattis to be secretary of defense and retired Gen. John Kelly as secretary of Homeland Security. Rep. Mike Pompeo of Kansas is expected to be confirmed as the new head of the Central Intelligence Agency on Monday.
Trump is set to meet with congressional leaders from both parties at the White House on Monday night.