The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has narrowly approved Rex Tillerson as US secretary of state, despite concerns about his business ties to Russia.
It split along party lines, with all 11 Republicans voting in favour and all 10 Democrats against. A full vote will now be held in the Republican-run Senate.
The move capped a busy day for the new Donald Trump administration.
Most notable was the US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, fulfilling a campaign pledge.
President Trump signed an executive order to pull out from the 12-nation trade deal that had been a linchpin of former President Barack Obama’s Asia policy.
“Great thing for the American worker what we just did,” Mr Trump said.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has narrowly approved Rex Tillerson as US secretary of state, despite concerns about his business ties to Russia.
It split along party lines, with all 11 Republicans voting in favour and all 10 Democrats against. A full vote will now be held in the Republican-run Senate.
The move capped a busy day for the new Donald Trump administration.
Most notable was the US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, fulfilling a campaign pledge.
President Trump signed an executive order to pull out from the 12-nation trade deal that had been a linchpin of former President Barack Obama’s Asia policy.
“Great thing for the American worker what we just did,” Mr Trump said.
At the start of his first full week in office, the president also:
banned funding for international groups that promote abortions,
froze the hiring of some federal workers,
met corporate bosses and warned of border taxes levied on firms that outsource,
picked Ajit Pai – a critic of “net neutrality” rules – to head the Federal Communications Commissions,
blamed illegal ballots for his failure to win the popular vote, without offering evidence promised to have a new Supreme Court nominee within two weeks.
Also on Monday, the Senate confirmed Mike Pompeo as Mr Trump’s CIA director.
Mr Pompeo’s immediate task, correspondents say, will be to establish an effective relationship between the spy agency and Mr Trump.
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