A "war is brewing" among President-elect Donald Trump's top advisers who disagree about Russia and how best to communicate the incoming administration's position with confirmation hearings starting next week, Politico reported.
Trump has been loud and unapologetic how he feels about Russia president Vladimir Putin, but he is not one who will be staring down senators next week on Capitol Hill.
Instead, Cabinet picks Gen. James Mattis (Russia is our "most dangerous rival"), and Mike Pompeo (U.S. response to Russia over Ukraine "far too weak"), and Rex Tillerson, who has done business with Russia, are going to be driven into corners by questions that could make or break their confirmation, or at least drive a wedge between them and their boss, Politico reported.
"Tillerson, Pompeo and Mattis will bear the brunt of it," Boris Zilberman, a Russia expert at the hawkish Foundation for Defense of Democracies told Politico. "They will focus on things Trump has said and see how much daylight they can create between [Trump's] statements and the nominees."
Further, the hearings come at a hot time when the debate rages about the impact of Russia's meddling in the election and in the absence of a complete intelligence report of the hacking allegations.
To that extent, Trump is also at odds with many Senate Republicans who not only tacitly praised President Barack Obama for sanctioning Russia, but think the U.S. should react more harshly over election hacking.
Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham have concerns about Tillerson, in particular, and his relationship with Putin.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.