Trump’s State pick approved by panel, goes to full Senate vote

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee narrowly approved on Monday President Donald Trump's choice for secretary of state, former oil executive Rex Tillerson, clearing the way for his confirmation vote by the full chamber. The panel voted along party lines, 11-10, to recommend Tillerson's nomination to the full Senate, where the former chief executive of Exxon Mobil is almost certain to be confirmed by the Republican-led chamber.

Senate committee approves Tillerson for secretary of state

Former ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson won the backing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Monday to be secretary of state when it voted to send his nomination to the full Senate with a recommendation of approval. The vote was 11-10.

The Latest: Lawmakers slam ethics official over Trump tweets

Lawmakers from both parties are admonishing a federal ethics official who sent a series of tweets commenting on President Donald Trump's potential conflicts of interest. Members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee say the tweets by Walter Shaub Jr., director of the Office of Government Ethics, were inappropriate and could compromise the agency's objectivity.

Despite GOP pressure, Rubio remains a Tillerson holdout

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., left, questions secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson during his Jan. 11 Senate confirmation hearing. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., left, questions secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson during his Jan. 11 Senate confirmation hearing.

Sens. McCain, Graham to support Tillerson nomination despite Russia misgivings

Two senior Republican lawmakers on Sunday said they would vote to approve President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, despite their concerns over the former ExxonMobil chief's relationship with Russia's president. "After careful consideration, and much discussion with Mr. Tillerson, we have decided to support his nomination to be secretary of state," Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said in a statement.

Bill that might have meant millions for utility ratepayers snuffed out in Senate

During the first full week of the General Assembly session, there were few bills that held bigger potential implications for Virginians' pocketbooks than Sen. Chap Petersen's SB1095, which was swiftly smothered Monday in the Senate's Labor and Commerce Committee.

Navy: Wind farm opposed by GOP lawmakers wona t harm radar

The Pentagon says it disagrees with Republicans in North Carolina who claim a $400 million clean energy project slated to power data centers for Amazon.com Inc. poses a threat to national security. State legislative leaders have asked the incoming Trump administration to either kill or require major changes to the nearly completed wind farm, which they said will interfere with the operation of a military radar installation that scans for aircraft and ships hundreds of miles out over the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean.

In Texas, Perry was ‘all of the above’ on energy production

Years before the Democratic president endorsed all types of energy production - from oil and gas to renewable sources like wind and solar power - Perry was putting the policy into practice in Texas. During Perry's record 14-year tenure as governor, Texas maintained its traditional role as a top driller for oil and natural gas, while also emerging as the leading producer of wind power in the United States and a top 10 provider of solar power.

The Penultimate Week

In seven days, Donald J. Trump is due to be inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America. What happens next ? As Inauguration Day approaches, the Senate Select Intelligence Committee gears up to investigate the Russian hacking scandal, and more information regarding the FBI's investigation and the reaction of Democratic lawmakers comes to light .

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‘These things happen’: Rex Tillerson refuses to blame…

Sen. Marco Rubio asked Rex Tillerson point-blank whether Vladimir Putin was a war criminal - and Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state blinked. "I would not use that term," said Tillerson, the longtime chief executive of Exxon Mobil who was awarded the Kremlin's Order of Friendship in 2013 .

Rex Tillerson Is Big Oil Personified. The Damage He Can Do Is Immense

In one of the futile demonstrations that marked the run-up to the Iraq war, I saw a woman with a sign that read "How Did Our Oil End Up Under Their Sand?" In nine words she managed to sum up a great deal of American foreign policy, back at least as far as the 1953 coup that overthrew Mossadegh in Iran and helped toss the Middle East into its still-boiling cauldron. If the Senate approves Rex Tillerson after his testimony on Wednesday, they'll be continuing in that inglorious tradition - in fact, they'll be taking it to a new height, and cutting out the diplomats who have traditionally played the middleman role.

Here are all the Trump Cabinet confirmations hearings scheduled for Wednesday

After the first full day of grilling for President-elect Donald Trump's choices for Cabinet positions, Congress has more hearings scheduled Wednesday. Trump's secretary of state nominee, Rex Tillerson, will testify before the Senate Foreign Relations committee at 9 am.

Evan Vucci/AP Rex Tillerson likely to face pointed questions from both sides

Friend of Russia and foe of sanctions in his corporate life, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state, Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, is an unorthodox choice for a Republican White House. He may feel perfectly at home in Trump's iconoclastic administration.

Obama presses Trump not to back away from clean energy

WASHINGTON >> President Barack Obama cast the adoption of clean energy in the U.S. as “irreversible,” putting pressure Monday on President-elect Donald Trump not to back away from a core strategy to fight climate change. Obama, penning an opinion article in the journal Science, sought to frame the argument in a way that might appeal to the president-elect: in economic terms.