Rex Tillerson confirmed as US secretary of state

The US Senate confirmed former ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson as the next secretary of state on Wednesday, handing a major boost to President Donald Trump as he builds his cabinet.

Tillerson was confirmed by a vote of 56 to 43, with four Democrats ultimately joining all 52 Republicans voting in favour. Two of the more controversial Secretary of State picks in the past few decades, Henry Kissinger and Condoleezza Rice, made it through confirmation with significantly wider margins than Mr Tillerson – 78 to 7 for former; 85 to 13 for the latter.

Trump has repeatedly blasted Democrats for dragging out the confirmation process, and took to Twitter late Monday to accuse them of "delaying my cabinet picks for purely political reasons."

As Tillerson was sworn by the vice-president in the Oval Office, the President told him: "Your whole life has prepared you for this moment."

Tillerson responded by saying: "As I serve this President, I will always represent the interests of the American people at all times."

Tillerson, 64, had come in for severe criticism from Democrats who warned that his business approach and lack of government experience would hurt America's standing in the world.

But Republicans rallied around the nominee, after initial hesitation by Senators John McCain, Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham about Tillerson's ties with Russia and his position on human rights.

The former oil chief forged multibillion-dollar deals with Russia's state oil company, Rosneft, and was awarded the Order of Friendship by the Kremlin in 2013.

In his Senate confirmation hearing, he admitted that the West had reason to be alarmed by Russian aggression, but he refused under questioning to label Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal.

"Tillerson led a global enterprise with 75,000 employees, possesses deep relationships around the world, and understands the critical role of US leadership," Senate foreign relations committee chairman Bob Corker said in a statement.

"He has expressed a commitment to defend American values and to restore US credibility by strengthening old alliances and building new ones."

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin backed Tillerson, saying he will bring a "unique perspective to the State Department" and provide "wise counsel and objective advice to the president on our nation's foreign policy."

As secretary of state, Tillerson will handle relations with countries including China and Russia and negotiate matters such as climate change and human rights, on behalf of President Trump.

With Tillerson's confirmation and pending swearing-in, Trump will have several key members of his national security team in place, including Secretary of Defence James Mattis, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, CIA Director Mike Pompeo and US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.