Rex Tillerson passes first phase for secretary of state

One of Donald Trump’s most important and precarious cabinet picks, former oil executive Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, was narrowly approved by a Senate committee on Monday as the last Republican holdout in the upper chamber declared his support.

Tillerson is widely expected to win confirmation from the full Senate when his confirmation goes to a vote, expected next week, after its foreign affairs committee voted 11-10 along party lines to support him.

The partisan split in the voting is unusual, as traditionally, nominees for secretary of state have been approved by overwhelming votes from both parties.

A full vote will now be held in the Republican-run Senate.

Florida senator Marco Rubio said he still had reservations about Tillerson’s commitment to defending human rights abroad but would vote for him in view of his business credentials and the national interest, and because the former ExxonMobil chief had addressed at least some of Rubio’s concerns during a combative Senate hearing earlier this month.

He had challenged Tillerson over his refusal to call President Putin a "war criminal" over Russia's air strikes in Syria and his failure to condemn strongly enough human rights violations in Saudi Arabia and the Philippines.

Two other sceptical Republican senators, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, announced their backing on Sunday. They also voiced reservations “about his past dealings with the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin”, but said they were encouraged by his stated support for US alliances.

Also on Monday, the Senate confirmed Mike Pompeo as Trump's CIA director.

Pompeo's immediate task, correspondents say, will be to establish an effective relationship between the spy agency and Trump.

The President has been critical of the CIA for concluding that Russia had been actively working to influence the US presidential elections in his favour.