Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer on Tuesday said Rex Tillerson must face "serious questions about his relationship with Russia" and "his disturbing opposition to sanctions" against the country's old Cold War foe.
The next minority leader of the Senate gave Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state, a back-handed compliment in his statement.
"While Mr. Tillerson's worldview may not seem to be as dangerously interventionist as Mr. Bolton's or others,' that does not absolve him from being asked the most serious questions about his relationship with Russia, his disturbing opposition to sanctions on Russia, the Paris climate agreement, and how he views Putin," Schumer wrote.
"Given these serious concerns, the members of the Foreign Relations Committee, both Democrat and Republican, should be given ample time to study Mr. Tillerson's entire record and worldview and then ask several rounds of extensive questions," Schumer concluded.