WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump is swearing in former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state.
Trump says in the Oval Office that it is "time to bring a clear-eyed focus to foreign affairs." The president is praising Tillerson's background, telling him, "Your whole life has prepared you for this moment."
The Senate approved Tillerson's nomination earlier Wednesday on a vote of 56-43, brushing back efforts by Democrats to derail the oil executive's bid to become the nation's top diplomat.
Tillerson will need to deal with the fallout from Trump's executive order on immigration and a temporary travel ban preventing people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.
