mr. tillerson: we apologize for being late. this year's prayer breakfast, people felt the need to pray longer. [laughter] mr. tillerson: i welcomed them all. thank you for such a warm reception. it is a pleasure to be here. i've been anxious to be here and so anxious to have my wife of more than 30 years. she has been steadfast through this process, encouraging me on and reminding me what this is all about. thank you. [applause] mr. tillerson: i also want to acting- want to thank secretary tom shannon, who has been superb. tom, thank you so much. [applause] mr. tillerson: it was truly an honor that tom joined us in the oval office last night for my swearing in. i want to recognize and thank all of you here at headquarters of our state department, the staff and partners around the world who have faithfully perform your duties regardless of who was in charge, so important. i know many of you have assisted ambassadors and other officials during the senate confirmation process, and some of you have been through it yourself. i can a

mr. tillerson: this means the state department family here in the u.s. and all those agencies serving under chief of missions abroad, including civil service, foreign service officers and hostedists, locally staff of third countries and third country nationals, and limiting partners, and not least of all, the family members who support us at home and in service to our country overseas. the foreign service is not the only component of the state department. the civil service workforce component can place a central role in all we achieve. we cannot achieve success without the services you provide. but we often live in a world of headlines. working outside of the public eye is not make you any less essential to our operations. your intelligence and sound judgment are the brick-and-mortar elements of all we do. we all depend on your good work, and i know it will continue. one of the great -- [applause] one of the great challenges and thrills for the state department staff is deciding how to confront changing conditions in every corner of the world. usecourage

mr. tillerson's nomination is this. in just the first week and a half of the trump white house, we have seen numerous cases of trump nominees saying one thing during their confirmation hearings before this body, and then the administration turning around and doing something entirely different. after secretary mattis told us that he opposed the muslim travel ban and director pompeo stated his opposition in hearings to torture, we saw this administration move forward with both. i have seen nothing that shows me that rex tillerson will stand up to president trump's dangerous vision for american foreign policy. what will he do to stand up for nato? what indication do we have that he will call on the president to act in the interest of the american people and not the interest of president trump's business holdings in numerous nations around the world? the secretary of state sits on the national security council. will mr. tillerson stand up to steve bannon, president trump's political strategist who has been outrageously plac

mr. tillerson. as the ranking democrat on the foreign relations committee and his position as secretary of state. we want our country to succeed. our country succeeds when we use every tool we have to deal with our international challenges. diplomacy, development assistance, it is critically important to achieve those objectives. i will be working very closely with mr. tillerson to make sure these tools are used most effectively to advance u.s. interests. susan: there is 12 minutes left. >> senator, i am interested and how you think democrats will approach the supreme court nominee. obviously this is an area in which you hold real leverage in enabling or blocking the president's nominee, justice gorsuch. what are the democrats weighing right now as they approach this decision? senator cardin: this is one of the most important responsibilities that a member of the senate has. in the advice and consent. it is a lengthy process. normally there is up to two months before we even start the hearings in or

mr. tillerson does on this issue. it is not clear how the president will be receiving information on conducting foreign policy, and how directives will be given by the administration on foreign policy. we do know that the career people at the state department are gifted and knowledgeable and have the expertise that are critically important. i respect secretary matus's

mr tillerson's words were welcomed by foreign secretary borisjohnson after their bilateral meeting. moscow. i think rex tillerson's absolutely clear in his view, which is the same as mine — you've got to engage with russia, but you've got to engage in a very guarded way. you've got to beware of what they're up to. there's no question, when you look at russian activity on the cyber front, when you look at what they're doing in the western balkans and when you look at what's been happening in the ukraine, you've got to be very, very cautious. from security to global trade, the uncertainty about where the united states now stands on many big issues is almost unprecedented. but what's unacceptable, says donald trump, is what he calls a biased, discredited media. he's picked out the new york times and cnn, which he accuses of relying too heavily on leaks and alleged ties between his officials and russia to undermine his government. i do think there is not the same rigour going on right now in newsrooms. the number of rubbish stories that we're seeing, with reporters just rushing to publis

mr. tillerson make a real difference or not? so there's some different views among democrats and republicans. but there's certainly republicans who are extremely anxious to get more reasoned views in the room before mr. trump makes his decisions and that's been one of their top priorities and we've seen a different in confidence during the confirmation process. secondly, there is views among democrats and republicans that we can influence, we, the congress, can influence the trump administration policies and there's been some success on that. we've seen it with the trans-atlantic partnership. we saw what mr. trump said during the campaign and shortly after he took the office of presidency. that has toned down quite considerably and we think that we are -- we have some responsibility in changing that discussion because there's no difference between the democrats or republicans in the absolute essential importance of the trans-atlantic partnership to america's national security. so whether it's nato or whether it's the unity in eur

mr. tillerson does on this issue. how thet clear president will be receiving information on conducting foreign policy, and how directives will be given by the administration on foreign policy . we do know that the career people at the state department are gifted and knowledgeable and have the expertise that are critically important. i respect secretary matus's comments that if you don't support the state department, you had better give me more troops. the state department keeps us safe without having to put our men and women in harm's way. i hope that message will be accepted by the trump administration, and that the state department will be tasked with keeping america safe for all the tools at their disposal, and that mr. tillerson will be the captain of that effort. if he is, i think he is a .apable person my main concern is that i see him too transactional or business reasons, versus what i said in my initial confident -- my initial comment that we should never trade and economic benefit for our basic values. we sh

mrjohnson believes that he shares the same views on russia as his us countrerpart, despite mr tillerson'se. you've got to engage with russia, but you've got to engage in a very guarded way. you've got to be aware of what they are up to. there's no question, that when you look at russian activity on the cyber front, what they are doing in the western balkans, what's been happening in ukraine, you've got to be very, very cautious. and so, i think it's entirely right to have a dual track approach. we don't want to get into a new cold war. that's something london and washington are com pletely something london and washington are completely at one on. that goes for all our european allies as well. nor do we want to allow russian behaviour to continue as it is. and rex tillerson has been very clear about that. given the global scale of the unease about president trump's administration and the early signs, are you having to act as a spear carrier or cheerleader for president trump? there's always been a very strong relationship between the uk and the us. as i've said, it's one of the great geopo

within the past half hour, mr tillerson was sworn in as secretary of state in the oval office at the white house. he said he was looking forward to his new role. i have a few folks in the room that are with me that have helped me over the last month to get to this point in the confirmation and they represent a larger category of people who have worked enormously long hours tirelessly guiding me through the confirmation process and to them i will always be eternally grateful to the sacrifices they have made of their time these past week. i have also received over the last month so many messages and letters and phone calls of best wishes, encouragement and prayers from family, friends and colleagues who know me well. but i have also received an enormous outpouring of wonderful messages from people all over the country whom i do not know. it is their messages that are going to stand instead fast reminder to me asi to stand instead fast reminder to me as i enter the responsibilities as secretary of state, that as i serve this president, i serve their interest and will always represent th

mr. tillerson has a full plate. you mentioned the dissent cables. to make surehim that remains intact.saw what the press secretary said, intimidating people not to use that line of communication within the state department, which has been there since the vietnam war, and it is an important way for freedom of expression within the state department. we have encouraged mr. tillerson through his leadership as secretary of state to make sure that line remains open without intimidation. he has a lot of issues. he has north korea and their attempts to develop an icbm. we have the iranian issue and the ballistic missile tests. weavwh ihaeng sya,heel rsi retish. weeemr tleon tseth clatfo cert s. ren-li. iouchf goat. heaso in authe ime erweanve es iuewiouthusof liryor. urng ho e s fi t aceve jeiv. sa y vedgastis nfmaon yosuesngouilha anpedioghim hsialo u ate uty eroucose wi banperetish twn se m llso wt r uny ed oucotrsuee wn se erto wavtoeawi ountnaon cllge iss italornto hie obctes i lle rkg ryly thr. tleono keur feivy. u sa tres mutt. iertean h y thk moatwi aroh e prurnone th ianreinhi ld rleva

president trump's new secretary of state, rex tillerson, has been sworn into office. at the ceremony, mrwas confident mr tillerson could use his unique skills to help bring peace and stability. now it's time for a look back at the day in parliament.

state department officials say mr tillerson wants to listen, and to offer reassurances about presidentmp's approach to international affairs. david willis reports. america's secretary of state has a lot on his plate. rex tillerson‘s top priority will be reassuring nervous allies that the government he is part of is not in fact descending into chaos. given the evidence that exists to the contrary, however, it might prove a difficult message to sell. not yet four weeks into his term in office, mr trump has had his travel ban blocked, his national security adviser fired, and seen questions mount about his ties to russia. the president of the united states and the prime minister of israel. no mention of that issue at a news conference with the israeli prime minister, nor any suggestion that it was the president himself who had forced michael flynn's resignation. michael flynn, general flynn is a wonderful man. i think he has been treated very, very unfairly by the media, as i call it, the "fake media," in many cases. and i think it is really a sad thing that he was treated so badly. i thin

mr. tillerson is learning his way. i think there will be further guidance right now his job is to get in, get settled talk to the employees. back to the issue, offers leap it's important to the president, during and through the campaign, it's something he addressed this morning and it's something he is committed to, talked about in terms of the executive orders and allowing christian minorities in key countries to seek asylum in the united states. he recognizes that in so many nations these are the oppressed groups in accordance with how the u.n. defines refugees. i think you will see further guidance for that. jennifer wyssen. >> two questions today. today the president renewed his promise to protect religious liberty. some see that as kpoed for discrimination. >> right. >> can you give us a sense of how the president view this is tension. >> it is an interesting question because i do -- i -- you know, this is something that comes up quite a bit. i think there is a line. people should -- we have freedom of religion in

mr. tillerson wants to give me a call i will talk to him about it. at the state department who would love to work with mr. tillerson to make sure the state department performs its job independently and non-politically. tom: i was asking, in the department of justice, will they be able to find these people leaking information out from some source? i suggested to him, if i was doing that, i wouldn't use the company phone, i would use my personal cell phone. he said it's hard to find them. do you think they will? >> i think withinned the cia and the other agencies they know the units where these leaks are coming from. we are not going to let work on these subjects. the leaks are coming through. there are strategies used to take care of this problem. but leaks are a fact of life. with trump appointees we can significantly reduce this problem. tom: it would be nice to get all of these nominees in place and running the various agencies. good to see you. breaking news tonight. the islamic state is claiming responsibility for two deadr deadly attacks in the

mr. tillerson. second, i welcome the comments from mr. spicer today which i've just seen for the first time. i think that he perhaps has not done enough after many other statements by the white house team to reassure public servant as to the state department and elsewhere that there's not going to be a list of names in retribution, yes, dissent is a practice that has been in the department of state since 1971, this dissent channel, and it should be respected. i do regret this time around that the contents of this dissent message reached the media before they reached the secretary of acting secretary. it is essential there be a real debate and discussion how to do it and the dissent channel plays a vital role. tom countryman, thank you for your service. >> thank you it's an honor to be here. >> we are following breaking news what is being called quote a very scary situation unquote unfolding at a delaware prison. guards being held hostage right now. more when we come back. >>> we have more breaking news today. we have just learned about th

mr. tillerson that they're going to go ahead and they'll have strong foreign policies and the america's alliesl know we're back and where we stand. >> donald trump is embracing vladimir putin, do you support that? >> i support creating a dialogue where you can talk. you know, i want a proponent of what president obama did with castro and cuba. >> so when he tweets on the day that the obama administration puts in place new sanctions, this is sortly before donald trump became president and putin says he's not going to retaliate. and he says great deal on delay by vladimir putin. i always knew he was very smart. look at that. he's calling vladimir putin very smart. but let's put up a graphic of the entities that he has taken on. just taken on recently arnold schwarzenegger, john mccain, blumenthal, judge robart, nordstrom, nbc, abc, mark cuban, "the washington post," cbs as well as the national security agency. so does that concern you that he is at one hand -- and we also have a graphic of someone just to make a point that he has not criticized. vladimir putin. he's not targeted him on twitter a

mr. tillerson. >> and some reports that mr. tillerson is not pleased he's been locked out of some of these meetings with world leaders. let's put yesterday, chuck, what we saw down there in florida at that airport hangar together with the press conference mr. trump held in the white house on thursday. i spoke to one white house senior aide who said trump is out there in his natural habitat. he's reminding people why he became president, he's taking his case directly to the american people. is this a good format for him? i know he thinks it is, but is it good for a president to be out this way? >> that's the open question. i was calling it his political comfort food, right? you've been traveling for a while and you're sort of tired of eating takeout or whatever, and you just go home and you want the stuff you crave the most, and for him tha press conference where he's the center of attention for over an hour and having a campaign rally with adoring supporters. so i think after a rough month, he needed a personal morale boost. har

mr. tillerson. gen. dunford: i did not see in the consistency between let mr. tillerson said before he became secretary of state. i think most people know that there are a number of claims in the south china sea and we are not one of the claimants to that territory in the south china sea. we have, for a long time, so the right way to handle that was through the framework of international law and specifically related to one of the territories in the south china sea. tishink what secretary mat was saying, which is these territories, which are contested and need to be addressed politically and when secretary tillerson said something needed to be done, i did not immediately jumped to a military solution. i think separate from the south china sea, we had to talk probably about the purpose of u.s. military posture in the pacific and that strategic level. it is that the more, nothing less than whatever interest are meeting the alliance commitment in the region. guysetting the conditions to hot -- for us to have, what you talk about with the specific pacific nation, ver

mr. tillerson for secretary of state, the trump administration has relaxed sanctions on russia. that happened today. and now apparently we're going to vote to eliminate a law that requires transparency among companies like exxonmobil. i kind of feel like i got snookered at the hearing. what public interest is at stake in rolling this back? i don't think there's any -- some say look, it's about leveling the playing field. the u.s. shouldn't be at a competitive disadvantage. but u.s. companies aren't at a disadvantage. companies listed on the u.s. stock exchange wherever they're from are required to do this transparency. these disclosures and many are already doing it. and because we've led the european union and canada have said this is a great idea and they're doing it too. it would be a horrible thing if the u.s. pulled away from its leadership. in conclusion, i'm concerned that in the opening two weeks of the trump administration despite a lot of promises about what they would do on the economy, what is the administration -- has the administration done about the economy? on da

mr. tillerson's confirmation. i've never had the honor to meet him but from mutual acquaintances, i have derived the highest respect for his reputation. i hope that among the first things he does is something that has been necessary in previous administrations, to make clear to all of the public servants in the state department that he will defend and protect them against any such retribution. even if he is in his job tomorrow, which i hope happens, there is still, as you said, a vacuum, not just on the management side but on the policy side. >> and we should point out that steve bannon, arguably, is clearing that vacuum with foreign policy decisions. >> that's what mt concerns me about the executive order, that there was no apparent coordination or feedback from four key agencies directly affected, homeland security, state defense and justice. >> homeland says they weighed in but the argument is whether they were overruled at the last moment when some of the visa issues were addressed. >> it seems clear that the

the us state department has indicated that mr tillerson will try to provide a comforting message to countriesn america's foreign policy positions. president trump has suffered another set—back in his efforts to finalise the line—up of his cabinet. his choice for labor secretary, andrew puzder, has withdrawn from the nomination process after several republican senators said they would not support him. mr puzder has admitted that he once employed a housekeeper who wasn't legally allowed to work in the us. social care for elderly people is on the brink of collapse in some parts of england, according to the charity age uk. it says more than 50,000 people are now not receiving any help, despite struggling with essential daily tasks such as washing, eating and getting out of bed. our health correspondent sophie hutchinson reports. push — that's it. for ten years, elaine yates has cared for her husband. they managed to get some social care. but elaine, who runs a support group for carers, says it's much harder now. when michael first came into the system, it was a lot easier, because we had our own

mr. tillerson is learning his way around the building this morning. we gave a great speech recording the goal for the state department. right now his job was to get in, get settled, talk to the employees, it's important to the president and throughout the campaign something he addressed this morning and committed to talked about in terms of the executive orders an allowing christian minorities in key countries seek asylum in the united states. he recognizes in so many nations these are the o pressed groups with accordance with how the u.n. defines refugees. >> two questions, today the president renewed his promise to protect religious liberty which he says is under threat. some americans see it as code for discrimination. can you give us a view how the president views this? >> it's an interesting question because this is something that comes up quite a bit. i think there's a line. people should -- we have freedom of religion in this country and i believe they should be able to practice their religion and areas of faith without repricele. and i think t

to cancel the upcoming meeting" — you can see why this is going to be an interesting trip for mr tillersona, this is going to be quite a balancing act for rex tillerson? he certainly has his work cut out. the wall, that led to the cancellation of the presidents meeting. and the crackdown on illegal immigrants. none of this has improved the claimant. but rex tillerson, going to try to calm those tensions. going with a head of homeland security, responsible for the border and they are going to be meeting government ministers and the idea is to try to set up channels of communication, holding talks and then repeat. the system when you would have recurring visits, to try to manage the relationship. both of these men, sober, calm men. that discussion can commence. but i am not sure exactly what that means. the mexicans have said who do we listen to? the white house, or the reassurance from the cabinet officials? nobody clear. rex tillerson has not been in this position for long but he had his inaugural trip to germany. what was the mood that you got from that event? it was interesting. it was a

president trump's new secretary of state, rex tillerson, has been sworn into office. at the ceremony, mrrump took an optimistic view of the international challenges facing his new administration, saying he was confident mr tillerson could use his unique skills to help bring peace and stability. now it's time for a look back at the day in parliament. hello and welcome to wednesday in parliament, where mps give initial approval to the bill beginning the process of exiting the eu. ayes to the right, 498. noes to the left, 114. so the ayes have it, the ayes have it. also on this programme: jeremy corbyn demands the prime minister retracts the invitation for donald trump to come to the uk and meet the queen. just what more does the president trump have to do before the prime minister will listen to the 1.8 million people who have already called for his state visit invitation to be withdrawn? but theresa may rejects that call and says labour has nothing to offer the uk. he can lead a protest. i'm leading a country. and the trade secretary dismisses accusations that his department has been putt

she told me a little earlier that mr tillerson had so far been guarded and moderate in his approach,us would, for now, be sticking to its policy line on russia. and ukraine. everybody here is wondering what us relations with russia will be like giving donald trump's repeated state m e nts giving donald trump's repeated statements he wants new and improved ties with the kremlin. he has talked about perhaps cooperating with russia in counterterrorism, in syria, but not of that has been spelt out. and there have been concerns both here and also in the united states that he might lift sanctions on russia which were imposed over its invasion of crimea and its support. it is in east ukraine, in exchange for something else, if you look at the statement of man —— of rex tillerson, he says, we are sticking to the line, we will search for new common ground in the para meters search for new common ground in the parameters of russia keeping to its agreements, the peace agreements made in minsk about the escalating the violence in ukraine. he did not say anything about sanctions, but i think thos

a former senior diplomat here told me that mr tillerson was honourable and was hoping he would be a goodr. at least in this building, they are hoping that there will be a direction set that they can follow. stay with us. we are already getting a sense of the challenges that rex tillerson will be facing because he comes in at a time where tensions between the us and other countries are on the rise. we got this from donald trump's national security adviser, giving this response to a recent missile test. president trump and severely criticised the various agreements reached between iran, the obama administration, as well as the un, as being weak and ineffective. instead of being thankful for the united states, iran is feeling emboldened. as of today, we are officially putting iran on notice. thank you. iran is on notice. rex tillerson will have to hit the ground running. most certainly. it looks as if iran will be one of the first tests. general flynn was referring to the ballistic missile tests that iran has recently carried out. these are a constant source of friction tweener us, the un,

according to state department officials, mr tillerson will be primarily in listening mode, but they indicatedbe familiar and reassuring, which could prove to be a challenge given the continuing turmoil in washington at the moment, as david willis reports. america's secretary of state has a lot on his plate. rex tillerson‘s top priority will be reassuring nervous allies that the government he is part of is not in fact descending into chaos. given the evidence that exist to the contrary, however, it may be a difficult message to sell. not yet four weeks into his term in office, donald trump has had his travel ban blocked, is national security adviser fired, and seen questions mount about his ties to russia. the president of the united states and the prime minister of israel. no mention of that issue at a conference with the israeli prime minister nor any question that it was the president himself who told michael flynn to stand down. he is a good man who has been treated u nfa i rly good man who has been treated unfairly by the fake media in many cases. and i think it is really a sad thing that

mr tillerson, who's president trump's most senior diplomat on the international stage, was speaking afterin germany with the russian foreign minister, sergei lavrov. well with me now isjeremy shapiro, director of research, european council on foreign relations. in terms of that brief comment we heard from rex tillerson, that specific comment about ukraine is presumably what other members in the t20 really needed to hear. they need some reassurance. t20 really needed to hear. they need some reassurance . yes, t20 really needed to hear. they need some reassurance. yes, this is part of the reassuring store. i think rex tillerson probably doesn't really know what the policy towards russia is, since nobody seems to know it. he's been repeating what the policy has been trying to tell the allies what they want to hear. he's hoping that early tomorrow morning the president doesn't wake up and contradict him in a tweet. with that brutal? he is being incredibly cautious in public, saying as little as possible and making sure everything is off script. i guess you're not surprised by that approach? t

the us state department says mr tillerson will try to provide a "comforting message" to countries uneasypparent changes in america's foreign policy positions. we'll be live in germany in a moment, but first this report from wyre davies. with so much attention on his own difficulties at home, donald trump might be thankful that, for the next couple of days, the spotlight will fall squarely on the shoulders of his new secretary of state rex tillerson, attending the g20 summit in germany. among his first meetings was with foreign secretary boris johnson. the people of gambia were delighted to be coming back into the commonwealth. not something the united states is going to be doing. not that i'm aware of. small talk and jokes for the cameras, but rex tillerson‘s counterparts will want to hear reassuring words about many things, including the new administration's commitment to nato. in a turbulent, uncertain world, much has been made of rex tillerson‘s previous role as a senior oil executive with very close business ties to moscow. a relationship that will come under microscopic scrutiny whe

mr tillerson was opposed by nearly every democrat.jor confirmation hearing will be forjudge neil gorsuch. he's mr trump's choice for the vacant position on the us supreme court. leading democrats are questioning whether he can be an independent voice, as our north america editorjon sopel reports. forget the humdrum way a supreme court pick is normally announced, this is the donald trump white house and it was all geared for prime time television. every network taking the announcement live, tension building through the day. but now, it was showtime. so was that a surprise? was it? politicians come and go, but neil gorsuch, such a conservative with impeccable legal credentials and flanked by his british wife, has just been handed a job for life to the most powerful court in the land. standing here, in a house of history, i'm acutely aware of my own imperfections. i pledge that if i'm confirmed, i will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the constitution and laws of this great country. last night there were protests again

mr. tillerson's hearing matter because he will be the one to direct or abdicate america's global leadership on this critical issue. and we may be blind in this chamber to the fact that the fossil fuel industry is calling the shots, pulling the strings and has control over our democracy, and is going around breaking our democratic checks and balances in order to seize control. but the rest of the world knows. you don't think the rest of the world can see why this body won't do anything on climate change when every american state university knows that it's coming on, when every american scientific society knows that it's coming on? when our p defense professionals know that it's coming on and warn us about it. when nasa and noaa know it's coming on and warn us about it? you don't think the people in russia, china and germany know that we are the ones who have a craft driving around on the surface of mars? you don't think they know how good our scientists know? and you don't think they know that the nasa scientists are telling us climate change is serious, it's coming at us, it's going to be c

mr. tillerson? en theould he act giv executive acts and the white house in the first two weeks?am, i think the tillerson appointment is a good one. knowsws what he is doing, the world. he will have to deal with a white house which likes to act quickly, sometimes without carefully worked out consultations, and there is a long tradition of some tension between the state department and the white house national security staff. sixld reagan ran through advisers, so i would expect friction there. the key for tillerson is to keep a steady course on his own. >> what about the friction within the gop? will the parties stay around and actually make sure that donald they is in check, or will rally behind him no matter what happens? >> in the short run, facing in 20 18, a lot of the people who were critical of donald trump in 2016 are reluctant to abandon him. they think they will be better off if they stick with him in their reelection. on the other hand, if part of what donald trump and steve bannon are doing is trying to organize a new populist party by appealing to the tea party republi

mr. tillerson has a full plate. you mentioned the dissent cables. have urged him to make sure that remains intact. secretary saidhe an intimidating people not to use that line of communication in the state department which has been there since the vietnam war and is an important way for to make sure the line opens without intimidation. he has a lot of issues. he has north korea in their innert to build an ballistic missile. weavwh'haeng sya. soucisoi o weeehitoowethe clatfo cert s. ren-li. hes r cefiar. hes e rs w t ca rol tsesss thtliryor. ilanhitochve ho:he rki doct e'

mr. tillerson for my friends who remain in the department. i hope he succeeds as an effective secretary of state. i know that there are thousands of foreign service and civil service officers were prepared loyally and make it succeed. what we have not seen is whether the white house is going to give him, show him the confidence that they need to have in their secretary of state if they want him to actually lead american foreign-policy. host: your biggest fear, your biggest worry is what? guest: i have a number of big worries. number one would be is if the secretary of state and secretary of defense have their roles reduced to running around the world and explain that our president did not actually mean wordse said, if in other our top cabinet officials can only do cleanup for statements the president made, we cannot push forward our policy. we cannot move ahead as the leader of the rest of the world. out of many big concerns, that is the single biggest one. host: our guest is thomas countryman, retired from the department of state. what are y

mr. tillerson for my friends who remain in the department. i hope he succeeds as an effective secretary of state. i know that there are thousands of foreign service and civil service officers were prepared loyally and make it succeed. what we have not seen is whether the white house is going to give him, show him the confidence that they need to have in their secretary of state if they want him to actually lead american foreign-policy. host: your biggest fear, your biggest worry is what? guest: i have a number of big worries. number one would be is if the secretary of state and secretary of defense have their roles reduced to running around the world and explain that our president did not actually mean wordse said, if in other our top cabinet officials can only do cleanup for statements the president made, we cannot push forward our policy. we cannot move ahead as the leader of the rest of the world. out of many big concerns, that is the single biggest one. host: our guest is thomas countryman, retired from the department of state. what are y

mr. tillerson will have a calming effect so that by tomorrow morning when he will have had a chance to tweet, may be people will look around the company, says there's adult supervision down thereafter all. >> decision came down a short time ago. for those tuning in. it's opinion by the entire court and they have the president lost this round in the u.s. court of appeals so the stay on his travel ban that was set by the lower court, the trial court judge, will stay in effect. the president says he will win and move on to. "hardball" with chris matthews starts right now. >>> donald trump see you in court. the security of our nation is at stake. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews. federal appeal court temporary kill killed president trump ban on seven countries. we sought to overturn ruling of the judge. visitors will be allowed to come to the united states as the court ca

mr. tillerson would enforce this immigration ban of. trump's or not. him on the record. >> shepard: and they got him on the record. >> yeah. >> shepard: beyond that, this idea that there's certain concerns that exxon would now be able to work in russia if the sanctions were dropped. could mean $500 billion for exxon mobil, could mean an economy changer for the russians. we still have a great deal of uncertainty on that matter. many people say i trust him, just do it. if you're a lawmaker, you really want a handle on that sort of thing. at least publicly i haven't seen it. >> shepard: exactly. that's what democrats wanted from rex tillerson. they want some more answers from mnuchin on his insider trading. they're arguing just the same point you're making. they're not getting enough answers on the complicated questions. the nominees have a lot of money. the more money you have, the more room for conflict of interest. the paperwork is so dense and takes so long to go through. democrats are concerned that something might have been missed. a question that s

mr. tillerson is now or shortly will be the secretary of state. we want to work with him. he will be our chief diplomat. i will do everything in my power to make sure that he promotes americans' values, stand up to rush yachlt russia's activities have been very much against our interests. and we need to make sure they understand that we're going to be as tough with russia as the president just said with iran. >> now you have been out outspoken about donald trump's travel ban. one of the first moves he made since coming into the office along with the wall. you met with john kelly about your concerns. what did he tell you? >> well, he told us it was a rough beginning and that they are committed to keeping america safe. and we're committed to keeping america safe. this executive order does just the opposite. it isolates america from other countries around the world. it compromises america's leadership on the refugee issue. it promotes the anti-american rhetoric that can be used by recruiters for terrorist organizations. so what we heard yesterday was that they're committed to

mr. tillerson's confirmation were the most in senate history for a secretary of state, a reflection of democratic unease with president trump's early foreign policy pronouncements that threaten to upend a guided united states -- that has guided united states presidents since world war ii. 13 senators voted in 2005 against condoleezza rice in the midst of a deteriorating iraq war. and in 1825, henry clay was confirmed 27-14, the record for votes until wednesday, the record for votes against until wednesday for rex tillerson when it was 56-43. he was stpwhorn at the white house -- sworn in at the white house after the senate vote. his wife along with vice president mike pence witnessing the swearing-in by the president in the oval office. wendy, mount vernon, washington, a republican. hi, wendy. caller: i just want to make a omment about the confirmation. i'm not -- it's not necessarily about the democrats and republicans. it's more about how the process should be working. host: ok. caller: it seems like -- i mean, i would want to have the right people that are in -- you know, taking care of the ed

mr. tillerson?the bench was deep enough. >> i'm just asking. >> i think it's a combination of that and the soil is going sideways for the last few months. >> listen, we're going to go do this at the smart board. >> this is my time to shine. i don't really understand what's going on here. >> we're going to go to our guest right now. we are joined on the robert raymond who oversees $900 million. great to speak with you. >> thank you for having me. >> you think oil's next move is higher and higher by a lot. what are you seeing? >> i think in the near term what we really see and really the primary point here is the global oil market is starting to tighten significantly so where that's really showing up in sort of the medium and sour side of the market so in various grades, dubai, mars blend, et cetera, and so i think what's important to understand that when opeck takes barrels out of the market they take some of their lower quality barrels out of the market so that's the first side of the market that re

mr. tillerson from the state department will come together -- because all of these individuals are new atoing to be relying very much on the old hands who have the information. the south asia desk of the state department, the j-5 in the pentagon, those in the cia who handle north korea. so they're going to get the information together and perhaps present some options in a deputy's committee and then a principles committee. so they probably wanted to get the president the most up to date information and say this is what's happening in the national security element of your government right now. they're pulling the facts together, the wires are hot between here and north korea and the japanese government more than likely. i'm sure there's been some reachout to again ambassador haley at the u.n. because she's going to have to pull some things together in that body. that probably won't happen tomorrow pu it will happen on monday where north korea will be condemned. as we're talking about this, the wheels of action are occurring within our government. but again, it is a new government, a new pr

mr. tillerson. i'm the ranking democrat on senate foreign relations and we had a very thorough hearing and i have concern to whether his business background and the way he responded to core values of america being compromised by his narrow interests as he negotiates with russia and other world powers. i'm concerned whether he will be strong enough to stand up for american values in dealing with countries that have been attacking us and doing things against america's interests. >> you think he's too close to putin? >> i think he would be too concerned about doing business with russia rather than standing up to russia not only in their attack against us but in what they are doing in syria. >> senator ben cardin of maryland, always enjoy your perspective. >> my pleasure. good to be with you. >> we continue to wait for sean spicer's daily briefing. there's a look at the white house briefing room. when that starts in a few minutes, we'll bring it to you. first, neil gorsuch, why are conservatives breathi