Washington, D.C.– In suggesting Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson to head the State Department, President-elect Donald Trump has selected someone whose personal and professional history demonstrates a fundamental conflict of interest with the mission of the agency he would have them lead.
“If approved by the Senate, the Trump Administration’s State Department would pose a critical danger to community health, the environment, and the climate around the world,” saidEarthworks Executive Director Jennifer Krill. She continued, “By choosing a climate denier and polluter to set his Administration’s international policies, President-elect Trump shows contempt for our global environmental health.”
“Now is not the time to be making deals, compromising, and cutting our few and precious environmental protections,” said Bruce Baizel, Earthworks Energy Program Director. He continued, “In addition to the global climate impacts of peddling dirty fossil fuels, Rex Tillerson has a track record of putting profits before people. He makes only one exception: when more fracking requires a new water tower he can see from his kitchen window.”
