{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://pallone.house.gov/press-release/pallone-nomination-tillerson-secretary-state", "Pallone on Nomination of Tillerson for Secretary of State", "2016-12-13", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "NJ", "Frank Pallone", "P000034", "pallone.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC - Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) released the following statement upon news of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson\u2019s expected nomination as Secretary of State.\n\"The issues handled by the Secretary of State are of the highest stakes, and they require someone with a deep understanding of international diplomacy and without any conflicts of interest.  Rex Tillerson is not that person.  The President-elect will argue that Mr. Tillerson\u2019s business experience makes him a viable candidate for this position \u2013 but it\u2019s the wrong experience. \n\u201cAs Chief Executive of ExxonMobil, Mr. Tillerson has been a vocal opponent of sanctions placed on Russia in response to its unwarranted incursion into the Ukraine. He was awarded the Russian Order of Friendship by Mr. Putin himself.  In an era in which Russia is increasingly aggressive toward the United States and the west, I wholeheartedly agree with Senator McCain\u2019s assessment that Tillerson\u2019s close relationship with Putin is a matter of concern.  \n\u201cBeyond the relationship with Putin, Tillerson has deep financial interests in oil fields all over the world through shares in ExxonMobil, many of which aren\u2019t scheduled to vest for almost a decade, according to the Wall Street Journal.  There is a legitimate question, based on the example of his relationship Putin, as to whether Mr. Tillerson will pursue the best interests of the United States without regard to his financial best interests.  \n\u201cI do not believe Mr. Tillerson is up to the task of being our nation\u2019s top diplomat, and I urge the Senate to deny his confirmation.\u201d\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": ["http://pallone.house.gov/press-release/pallone-nomination-tillerson-secretary-state"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.581236021593213, "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"}