{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://blumenauer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/blumenauer-statement-nominations-rex-tillerson-secretary-state-rick", "Blumenauer Statement on Nominations of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, Rick Perry as Secretary of Energy", "2016-12-13", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "OR", "Earl Blumenauer", "B000574", "blumenauer.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Portland, OR \u2013\u00a0Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) today condemned the nomination of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State and expected nomination of former Governor of Texas Rick Perry as Secretary of Energy.\n\u00a0Blumenauer released the following statement on the nomination of Tillerson as Secretary of State:\n\u201cDonald Trump continues to stack his Cabinet with people out of touch with the American people. Rex Tillerson has a history of putting business interests above those of American families, and he has very questionable \u2018friends.\u2019 As Secretary of State, he would have huge conflicts of interest with his stakes in ExxonMobil. It\u2019s also not entirely clear where he stands on many key U.S. foreign policy issues. It\u2019s an outrageous choice, and we deserve better.\n\u201cIn light of the CIA assessment on Russian interference in our election in favor of Donald Trump, perhaps most concerning about this selection is Tillerson\u2019s ties to Vladimir Putin. The Senate should not confirm him until we have a full accounting of Russian interference in the election.\u201d\nBlumenauer released the following statement on the announcement that Perry will be nominated for Secretary of Energy:\n\u201cThis nomination is a farce \u2013 unless you consider a failed stint on \u2018Dancing with the Stars\u2019 a qualifier for being our nation\u2019s lead nuclear scientist. Rick Perry in the past has promised to dismantle the Department of Energy \u2013 though, he couldn\u2019t remember the agency\u2019s name. He favors big oil over renewable energy and is a Board Member for the company pushing for the Dakota Access Pipeline. There are several more reasons for concern. The Senate has a responsibility to the American people to vote no on this confirmation. \u201c\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://blumenauer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/blumenauer-statement-nominations-rex-tillerson-secretary-state-rick"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.662794966250658, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}