Jan 11, 2017 - Politics & Policy

Three quotes to sum up Tillerson's morning

(AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Rex Tillerson, Trump's pick for Secretary of State, is spending his day getting grilled by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The big takeaways from his morning of testifying:

Marco Rubio pushed him on Russian involvement in Syria…

Rubio: Is Vladimir Putin a war criminal?Tillerson: I would not use that term.

In response to Ben Cardin's query on defending NATO allies…

Tillerson: I think what Russian leadership would have understood is a powerful response that indicated — yes, you took Crimea, but this stops right here.

Getting testy with Tim Kaine on Exxon-Mobil's muddying of climate research…

Kaine: Do you lack the knowledge to answer my question or do you refuse to answer my question?Tillerson: A little of both.

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