The Senate is slated to vote Wednesday on the confirmation of Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. The pending decision comes as tensions among congressional Republicans and Democrats heighten over President Donald Trump’s recent order to temporarily ban travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries.
The former Exxon Mobil Corporation CEO is expected to be approved. He would inherit a number of global challenges including the Syrian civil war, North Korea’s growing nuclear capabilities, and increasing assertiveness from China and Russia.
As the nation’s top diplomat, Tillerson would also face more recent foreign policy matters such as increased tension with Mexico over the financing of a wall along the Mexican-U.S. border and Trump’s imposition of a four-month hold on refugees entering the United States.
The travel ban has caused consternation not only among Muslim-majority countries, but also among nations such as Britain and Germany. The ban has prompted about 900 officials from the State Department, the agency Tillerson would lead if confirmed, to sign a memo opposing the policy.
Attorney General-designate, Jeff Sessions, testifies on Capitol Hill, Jan. 10, 2017, at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Vote on Sessions
The Senate Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, Wednesday scheduled a confirmation vote on Senator Jeff Sessions as the nation’s top law enforcement official. The move comes one day after Democrats blocked the vote and two days after Trump fired the acting attorney general, Sally Yates, because she refused to enforce the president’s travel ban.
Sessions, who has a reputation for taking hard-line positions on immigration, is expected to be approved by the committee, paving the way for a full Senate vote on his confirmation as early as this week.
Some Democrats on the committee are expressing opposition to Trump’s immigration executive orders. And Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein maintains Sessions cannot objectively enforce the law because he has been a close adviser to Trump on immigration and other issues.
The Senate Finance Committee voted Wednesday to advance the nominations of Republican Congressman Tom Price as health secretary and financier Steve Mnuchin as the head of the Treasury Department. The nominations now go to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. The committee votes were delayed Tuesday due to boycotts by Democrats; but, a Democratic boycott failed to block the votes for a second day, as Republicans changed the rules that required Democrats to be present for a quorum.
A vote is also planned Wednesday in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Trump’s choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt.
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