Tillerson's Nomination Shows Growing 'Business Representation' in US Gov't

US President-elect Donald Trump's decision to nominate ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state proves that the representation, and consequently the influence, of business groups in the US government is growing, Gerardo Nunez, a lawmaker from the Communist Party of Uruguay, told Sputnik.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On December 13, US President-elect Donald Trump officially announced he would nominate Exxon Mobil Chairman and CEO Tillerson to be the next US secretary of state.

"[The nomination proves that] there is a change in the quality of means of business sectors' representation, especially of the large national corporations," Nunez said.

When commenting on Tillerson's nomination, Trump said that he was chosen to "reverse years of foreign policy blunders and disasters."

Trump praised Tillerson as an experienced, successful global negotiator and noticed that his selection had been supported by experienced figures such as former secretaries of state James Baker and Condoleezza Rice, former defense secretary Robert Gates and former vice president Dick Cheney.

Tillerson joined Exxon in 1975 as a production engineer and served as the company’s senior vice president and president before being elected chairman and chief executive in 2006.