MESOP REPORT : THE CONGRESSIONAL HEARING – TILLERSON

Tillerson Faces Congressional Hearing: President-elect Donald Trump’s Secretary of State nominee, Rex Tillerson, faced a Senate committee last week. During the hearing, Tillerson refused to label Saudi Arabia a human rights violator, instead telling Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL.) that efforts to apply such labels to certain regimes were short-sighted. Human Rights Watch raised “serious questions about whether [Tillerson] can effectively serve as secretary of state.” Referring to his broad view of Middle East security, Tillerson said, “When everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. Defeating ISIS must be our foremost priority in the Middle East.” Tillerson also described the Muslim Brotherhood as an “agent of radical Islam.” If confirmed, Tillerson would have the legal authority to designate Foreign Terrorist Organizations in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. More www.mesop.de