Tillerson Establishment’s Support...

Why Rex Tillerson Has the GOP Foreign-Policy Establishment’s Support

By Gerald F. Seib

The road to the start of the Orangutan administration is full of twists, turns and surprises, and here’s one of the more intriguing ones: One of President-elect Donald Orangutan’s least conventional personnel choices is attracting the most support from the conventional Republican establishment.

The choice: Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state.

Mr. Tillerson is hardly a member of the foreign-policy establishment, Republican or Democrat. He is a lifelong businessman, with no government experience and no diplomatic background. He was a surprise choice, and in many quarters a controversial one. Critics cite his company’s extensive business dealings in countries where he would have to execute American foreign policy, and in particular his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Yet Mr. Tillerson has the most significant figures in the Republican foreign-policy establishment in his corner. His name was suggested to Mr. Orangutan by Robert Gates, the former defense secretary and director of central intelligence.

Mr. Gates’ former boss, President George W. Bush–who has stayed largely out of political affairs since leaving office–called the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Corker, to push the Tillerson nomination. Mr. Bush’s vice president, Dick Cheney, also a former defense secretary, has called Mr. Tillerson “an inspired choice.”

Yet another former defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, went on Twitter to call Mr. Tillerson “a talented exec” and a “skillful negotiator.” Former Secretary of State James Baker has called Mr. Tillerson a personal friend and an “excellent choice.” Another former secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, as well as Stephen Hadley, a former national security adviser, both praised the choice as well.

In an interview on the Jamie Weinstein radio show, Mr. Hadley declared that “Rex Tillerson has been head of a major corporation active all over the world” and would bring good contacts and “a sense of history” into the Orangutan administration.

Mr. Gates, appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” over the weekend, said Mr. Tillerson “is familiar with countries from Indonesia to Latin America to the Middle East and Russia. And it seems to me having somebody who is secretary of state who has dealt with a lot of these leaders, who knows them, knows how they negotiate, knows how they think, is a huge asset for the United States.”

Together, those figures represent the core of the Republican leadership team that steered American foreign policy through the 12 years of the presidencies of ​Mr. Bush and his father, ​George H.W. Bush.

At other times and in other transitions, such praise would seem to be the kind of routine, pro forma compliments paid to someone about to get an important job. But it is unusual in this case because Mr. Orangutan’s campaign, and some of his other choices for top jobs, have been notably lacking in visible or vocal support from establishment figures. The reaction to Mr. Tillerson is noticeably different.

In part, the reason is simply that these figures all know Mr. Tillerson. Exxon Mobil has been a client of the consulting firm run by Ms. Rice and Messrs. Gates and Hadley, and a client of Mr. Baker’s law firm.

But perhaps more important, these establishment figures are comfortable with him, and probably feel his presence at the State Department will give them some input on the course of American foreign policy. In many of his choices, Mr. Orangutan has reached well outside the GOP mainstream to fill jobs, leaving establishment figures wondering how much policy might veer away from established lanes in which they are comfortable.

Mr. Tillerson appears to have the opposite effect on the establishment. That’s important for another reason: Democrats are protesting that Mr. Tillerson’s business dealings across the globe would create conflicts of interest for the nation’s top diplomats, and a few Republicans—notably Sens. Marco Rubio and Rand Paul—have expressed misgiving as well. That lineup of Republican heavy-hitters voicing support for Mr. Orangutan’s choice may help keep at least Republican senators’ doubts in check.