Washington (January 6, 2017) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement today after meeting in Washington, D.C. with former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of State.

“My discussions today with Rex Tillerson were informative and touched on important topics including climate change, nuclear nonproliferation, LGBTQ rights and tensions with Russia.

“President-elect Trump has said the business relationships Mr. Tillerson built while working for Exxon make him ideally suited to be Secretary of State, but it’s these business interests that raise very serious questions about potential conflicts. We need a Secretary of State making decisions based on American interests, not a corporation’s. Senators, the American people and our global allies will want to know if Mr. Tillerson can pass that test. I will continue to ask Mr. Tillerson detailed questions about his experience and worldview next week at hearings in the Foreign Relations Committee.”