Corker calls Tillerson ‘very impressive’

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) on Saturday heaped praise on Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump’s reported pick for secretary of State.

“If it is Rex Tillerson, he is a very impressive individual,” Corker wrote on Twitter following reports that the Exxon Mobil CEO had been selected to head the State Department.

{mosads}Corker, himself on the shortlist to head to Foggy Bottom, will be in charge of recommending Trump’s secretary of State nominee out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he serves as chairman.

Another member of the committee, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), signaled Saturday that Trump “should expect a major battle if Rex Tillerson is nominated.”

“Rex Tillerson’s nomination would add yet another big business voice to a cabinet that Donald Trump has insisted would look out for the little guy,” Markey said in a statement.

“This nomination is clear confirmation that a Trump administration will doggedly pursue an ‘oil above all’ energy agenda, at the expense of clean energy and climate solutions,” Markey continued.

“Big Oil’s interests are not America’s interests, and questions will need to be answered about possible conflicts of interest that this nomination could raise.”

NBC News reported Saturday that Tillerson was Trump’s pick to lead the State Department, with former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton expected to serve as his deputy.