Senate confirms Rex Tillerson as secretary of state

The Senate approved former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as the next secretary of state on Wednesday. Tillerson was confirmed by a vote of 56 to 43, with every Republican in favor and nearly every Democrat opposed. "Mr. Tillerson led a global enterprise with 75,000 employees, possesses deep relationships around the world, and understands the critical role of US leadership," Corker said in a statement. "He has expressed a commitment to defend American values and to restore U.S. credibility by strengthening old alliances and building new ones."Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,