Tillerson approved; other battles loom

Supreme Court nominee Gorsuch faces tough confirmation fight

President Donald Trump notched a victory on Wednesday with Rex Tillerson anointed as his secretary of state, but opposition Democrats girded for battle over other nominations, including his US Supreme Court pick.

The Senate confirmed Tillerson, the former chief executive of oil giant ExxonMobil, by a vote of 56 to 43, before he was sworn in at the White House.

Democrats had argued Tillerson's lack of government experience and ties to Russia would not serve US diplomatic interests well. But four Democrats ultimately joined all 52 Republicans voting in favor.

With Tillerson sworn in, Trump has another key member of his national security team in place, along with his defense and homeland security secretaries and CIA director.

"This is a man that is respected all over the world before he even begins," Trump said at the White House, thanking Tillerson. "He left a very good job for this, I want to tell you."

But battles loomed on Capitol Hill over other key nominees including education secretary-designate Betsy DeVos, with two Republicans crossing the aisle to oppose her, and Supreme Court pick Neil Gorsuch, who was introduced late on Tuesday at the White House.

"He'll be approved very quickly," Trump said of Gorsuch, who would fill the seat on the high court left empty since conservative justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016.

But that confidence belies what looks to be a tough confirmation fight in the Republican-controlled Senate, after Trump's party refused for much of last year to fill the vacant court seat with Barack Obama's nominee.

Trump is pushing for Senate Republicans led by Mitch McConnell to prevent a likely Democratic filibuster by using what is known as the "nuclear option."

That procedure would change Senate rules to push Gorsuch through with a simple majority in the 100-seat chamber rather than a supermajority of 60 votes. Republicans hold 52 Senate seats.

"If we end up with that gridlock I would say, 'If you can, Mitch, go nuclear,'" Trump said.

Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pushed right back.

"The answer should not be to change the rules of the Senate, but to change the nominee to someone who can earn 60 votes," Schumer said.

The acrimonious row over Trump's ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries has further complicated efforts to get his nominees confirmed.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported on Thursday that Russia is ready to make contact with Tillerson. It is considering a meeting in Bonn or Munich in Germany in February, Russia's state-run RIA news agency cited a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying.

Reuters contributed to this story.

(China Daily 02/03/2017 page12)