Tillerson diverges wildly from Trump early in confirmation hearing

Rex Tillerson.
(Image credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, broke notably from his boss-to-be on several key global issues early in his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday. In his opening statement, Tillerson stated unequivocally that he did not believe Russia had a valid claim to Crimea, the Ukrainian territory it annexed in 2014. He also sympathized with NATO allies who are "right to be alarmed at a resurgent Russia" and said the reports of Russia's use of cyberattacks to interfere in the presidential election were "troubling."

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Kimberly Alters

Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.