Dem Sen. Ben Cardin Will Vote Against Rex Tillerson Nomination

Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., is against President Donald Trump's choice of Rex Tillerson to be the next secretary of state, The Hill reports.

"Tillerson was unwilling to characterize Russia and Syria's atrocities as war crimes, or Philippine President Duterte's extrajudicial killings as gross human rights violations," the website quoted Cardin as saying.

"And he was not willing to dismiss with unqualified clarity a registry for any ethnic or religious group of Americans."

Cardin is the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is expected to vote on the Tillerson nomination on Monday.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the committee, indicated he wants Tillerson to get a full Senate vote even if he doesn't get a majority support within the committee, The Hill reports.

Meanwhile, Sens., John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham R-S.C., after weeks of questioning Tillerson's ties to Russia, announced they will vote for him, according to Politico.

"Though we still have concerns about his past dealings with the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin, we believe that Mr. Tillerson can be an effective advocate for U.S. interests," they said in a joint statement.

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