Several former Republican cabinet officials who’ve lined up to support Donald Trump’s nomination of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state also have some sort of connection to either Exxon or Russia.
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates actually recommended Tillerson to Trump as a potential secretary of state nominee, two anonymous sources told Politico. Both Rice and Gates work for the consulting firm Rice Hadley Gates, which counts Exxon as a client.
James Baker, secretary of state under George H.W. Bush, has also supported Tillerson, according to Politico. Baker is a partner at a the law firm Baker Botts, which has represented both Exxon and Russian state-owned oil giant Rosneft.
