the deal should have been profitable for exxon. in 2014, the eu imposed sanctions on russia over the annexation of crimea and exxon ended up taking a huge loss. as much as $1 billion. this is why lawmakers are so concerned about tillerson. as secretary of state, he could push for removal or relief of sanctions in russia, which would be a windfall for exxon. brianna? >> thank you for explainings that. important stuff there. and he's actually been with exxon for decades. how did he rise through the ranks there? >> he actually joined in 1975 as an engineer and then he took a major role managing the russian account in 1998. look, his relationship with the country is one of the reasons he actually became ceo. because the company wanted to expand there, in that role, tillerson, like i said, orchestrated this deal with the largest, one of the largest oil and gas players in the russia. and shortly after that, russia awarded him, you mentioned elderer, the country's -- one of country's biggest honors. over the weekend, a member of parliamen

he was protecting exxon's interests. can he now defend america's interest with the same zeal as with exxon? >> always appreciate it. >>> donald trump's building his cabinet. what does his picks tell us about after his picks. you don't let anything keep you sidelined. that's why you drink ensure. with 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. for the strength and energy to get back to doing... ...what you love. ensure. always be you. explore your treatment options with specialists who treat only cancer. every stage... every day.... at cancer treatment centers of america. learn more at cancercenter.com/experts (laughs..) here it is. ♪ ♪ hey dad! ♪ wishes do come true. the lincoln wish list sales event is on. ♪ get exceptional offers on the lincoln family of luxury vehicles. sign and drive off in a 2016 lincoln mkx with zero down and complementary first month's payment. >>> after weeks of drama, we now know donald trump's choice for his secretary of state. exxon mobile rex tillerson. here to discuss cnn polit

the exxon mobile ceo. and is it good news or bad news? meanwhile the parade of familiar faces at trump tower rolling on. rick perry tapped top energy secretary. he'd be heading an agency he once tried to eliminate, and then there's kanye west. probably the only person to visit trump tower in the last two weeks who doesn't want a job, maybe. >> i just want to take a picture right now. >> okay. let's go back to jim acosta in wisconsin for us this evening. j jim, good evening to you. you're covering another so-called thank you rally, this one in wisconsin. how did it go? >> reporter: well, there are no kanye sightings here. there are some christmas trees behind me. i guess you can see that donald trump was in sort of the christmas spirit tonight, although i think he feels it's better to receive election victories than -- he gobbled up about 22 minutes of this 50-inout rally talking about his victory on election night. he also defended some of the decisions he's made as president-elect. most specifically, rex tillerson as secretary of state.

ceo of exxon mobile rex tillerson. there are already signs of trouble ahead for tillerson's nomination. there's uncertainty overviews of climate change and questions about his close relationship with vladimir putin. raising concerns on both sides of the alisle. we get more from cnn's phil mattingly at trump tower. >> reporter: george and christine. the pick is in. the president-elect will announce that rex tillerson, exxon ceo is his selection for secretary of state. he intends to nominate the ceo because the two just hit it off. they found a fit. they share similar world views and business backgrounds as deal makers. it comes down to three people. condeleeza rice and two others who recommended rex tillerson to the president-elect. now he will be the president-elect's top diplomat. that doesn't mean he will have clear sailing through the confirmation process. democrats raised concerns about the nomination. republicans have primarily because of tillerson's ties to russia. exxon as an oil company has done numerous deals

exxon-mobil's c.e.o. with stro secretary of state.he choice for and rick perry could head a department he'd just as soon forget. >> i can't. sorry. oops. >> pelley: also tonight, the final words from a doomed freighter, and angry words from a widow. >> i would have thrown the captain overboard and tried the save myself and the ship. >> pelley: a fmer pro football player faces criminal charges in an alleged health insurance fraud exposed by cbs news. >> how much are they making? >> oh, millis. >> pelley: and a woman who chocolate chip and money. exactly. mone honey. this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pely: today president-elect donald trump named the c.e.o. of exxon-mobil, rex tillerson, to be secretary of state. e senior meerf the tillerson was csen because he's made successl des with heads of state all aroundhe world, but thoou that bind. tillerson, for example, has a close business relationship with vladimir putin of russia.the ifelong oi man has no government experience, but he kneowl

he will no longer be ceo of exxon mobil. how can he leverage his knowledge of putin, his closeness with russia and make it work to the advantage of the u.s. policy. >> well, i think it's going to be a challenge. it's hard to work 40 years in one institution with one set of goals and switch overnight. in part because you have different goals. in part because you have different issue areas. i'm sure rex tillerson and vladimir putin never talked about democracy and human rights. i'll bet it's never come up in their meetings. as the secretary of state you have a whole entity within the state department to vote into democracy and human rights. i don't want to say it is impossible. i think it is a challenge. >> there was an economic forum in russia back in june. the state department spokesman john kirby was asked about it and about the attendance of rex tillerson. i want to play a little of that. >> think the ceo of exxon mobil is there. is this something you think is okay now? would you still discourage american ceos from attendi

decisionng to make a for exxon. be working for the united states government and doing every thing he could to be sure that our business would go forward and be well executed. -- i think tillotson would be great for this job. this name has come under great criticism. i think it is because he is in oil ceo. his perceived relationship with vladimir putin. out on bloomberg about how rex tillerson are currently went to the white house regarding the russian sanctuary. he wanted to make sure that competitors would not gain an edge through it. trump is already , is this going to create a headache for trump? the idea of having a secretary of state that presents the idea that this white house would be more favorable to russian interests? to tellacking, i hate you all this but i don't really know how to hack anything. tillerson, i think you would be great. he knows putin. he could sit down and talk to him about things. to make someut polish deal. i can't emphasize this more, when tillotson leaves exxon and goes with the state

exxon mobil ceo rex tillerson. tillerson is a millionaire many times over with the wealth of global business experience but no formal political or diplomatic experience. his nomination drawing praise and concern at the same time. do in large part to his long-standing business relationship with russian president vladimir putin. that may be a problem for some of trump's own party. like this guy. republican senator marco rubio. putting out a statement this morning saying in part that he has serious concerns about tillerson. and he's not alone there. but tillerson also picked up big endorsements from the likes of former secretaries of state condoleezza rice and james baker. this is the confirmation battle to watch, i can promise you, so stay tuned there. also new in transition this morning the president-elect has tapped former governor rick perry to head up the energy department. the same rick perry who said he wants to get rid of that department, even though sometimes he forgets which department he's talking about. we

as ceo of exxon-mobil, cal perry talks about this. business ties with russia and russian president vladimir putin ran deep and already senators from trump's own party say they are concerned about this pick. marco rubio before the pick was announced tweeted being a friend of vladimir is not an attribute i am hoping for from the secretary of state. republicans control the senate right now and no republican senators have said they are going to vote against tillerson, but it would not take many defections to sink him when his nomination comes to a vote in a few weeks. if that happened, it would be a very big deal indeed. it is rare for cabinet nominations to be defeated. the last time it happened, you have to go back almost 30 years to 1989. george h.w. bush nominated a former republican senator for secretary of defense. the senate voted down that nomination. that's the last time it happened. there is rare and really rare. think about this. in 1989, bush's party didn't control the senate. those were democrats rejecting a republican nomine

but in these negotiations that he has helmed between russia and exxon, between exxon and putin, have they been characterized by him driving a hard bargain, by having exxon take a hit when interests confront interests of the united states government, for example? is there anything of that in that history? >> sure, there's a couple things that i would point out. one of the things that was pretty interesting, that project that i described earlier, the sakhalin project, that was done in the last decade. exxon had a lot of negotiations before that went through. tillerson, believe it or not, before he stopped giving extensive interviews when he became ceo, he talked at length about those negotiations and said he approached them with a soft touch and was mindful of not trying to be the big americans who won the cold war and are here to take over your resources. he said he was particularly concerned about giving off that sort of impression to any of the people that he was negotiating with. he even said in an interview that as a russian individual that they were negotiating with kind of bange

putin wanted exxon to come. and he has personal relationships with every head of state on the planet where they are doing significant business. and by the way, russia isn't even the leading -- in terms of the barrels per oil that exxon gets out of each country per day. russia is like sixth on the list after africa. after the middle east. after china, after south america. so there is no reason why rex tillerson shouldn't be considered as a viable candidate. he's going to have to answer tough questions and he has to be prepared to answer though questions. but he is someone who has international business experience. has practices jeffrey said in bilateral deals making deals workshop -- so tough questions absolutely. especially with republican members who want to be able -- >> we're going to have more with the panel. we got too take a quick break. also going to focus more on rex tillerson as business and later. kanye west was at trump tower today. when a moment turns romantic, why pause to take a pill? or stop to fi

exxon mobile supported the paris agreement recently. speaking at a conference last month, tillerson said it helps world governments work together to solve the issue. tillerson's history could put him at odds with donald trump who ripped into the paris agreement on the campaign trail and said nobody really knows if climate change is real. >>> there is strong reaction to the tillerson nomination and it is all from moscow. let's get the latest from cnn's matthew chance live in moscow. >> reporter: george, the potential nomination of rex tillerson as secretary of state, has been greeted enthusiastically here before that expected tweet of his name from donald trump has been made. russian politicians have been following over themselves to heap praise on the texas oil man. kremlin spokesman told cnn earlier this was a positive thing. rex tillerson was a pragmatist and contests kocontacts at the level of the kremlin government. he has done many deals with the russian government and exxon. also the head of the russian parliamentary foreign affai

ties to exxon, but also others like bob corker. still some key gop senators wary of his ties with russia. marco rubio saying, he has serious concerns. trump's team, digging in. >> he's very good at being a diplomat, and the good lord didn't put oil in all freedom-loving democracies across the world. and yet rex tillerson was able to make this work. >> reporter: and it comes on the day of what is perhaps mr. trump's most surprising meeting at trump tower yet. kanye west. >> we've been friends for a long time. >> reporter: west, uncharacteristically tight-lipped right now. >> i just want to take a picture right now. >> reporter: and later tweeting he wanted to discuss multi cultural issues. it's not clear if west will have a role, but former rival, texas governor rick perry, nowse tapped for energy secretary. the agency he famously forgot during a presidential debate while listing the departments he's eliminate. >> the third one i can't, sorry, oops. >> reporter: trump also saying his adult sons will, his business interests, and no d

and exxon's board is meeting soon to decide how to unwind his financial stake. former ambassador and white house counsel norman eisen. >> you have such a huge portfolio, your decisions affect speech, tweet, can move an entire market. so, you need to be very, very conflict-free. >> reporter: since tillerson's name first surfaced as potential secretary of state, exxon mobile shares have gained about 6%. scott, the question here at the state department is whether tillerson will approach high stakes foreign policy challenges as a deal-maker or diplomat. >> margaret brennan, thanks. here in new york at trump tower, a steady flow of the rich and famous. visiting the president-elect. vogue editor-in-chief, anna wintour was there today, so were former football stars, jim brown and ray lewis. and rap mogul can yea west who and rap mogul kanye west who says he talked to mr. trump about multiculturaler use including bullying and urban violence was there. west once said that he too wants to run for president. >>> in the weather it will be bitter cold tonight in the upper mi

we have sanctions against russia that impact exxon. rex tillerson, former chief executive of exxon then having a secretary of state rule raises questions how he looks at those sanctions. as secretary of state. and i do think, you know, donald trump is going to sort of butt up against the powers of washington. the senate is prepared to sort of flex its muscle a little here. >> you think this, a.b. is a reshuffling entirely of how the u.s. relates to russia? >> we really don't know. i do no believe that donald trump would ever pick mitt romney because of their different world views with regard to russia, and obviously other reasons. >> you were right. >> but i think that -- i think this is still in question. this is a very awkward corner for republicans to be in. you saw them squirming over the weekend. senator mitch mcconnell, majority leader comes around, says, yes, they're not our friends. they don't wish us well. these kinds of allegations into cyber attacks need to be investigated, but they are not comfortable with donald trump's st

rex tillerson has only had one employer since leaving school, exxon, exxon, exxon. woven into who this man is and extraordinary experience dealing with foreign government. >> was also the ability that rex tillerson had to maintain relationships across the world in many places that aren't the easiest places to have relationships in during many different administrations, so obviously, he's very good at being a diplomat. >> very good at being a diplomat, but is he? what he was doing before is dealing with vladimir putin, you'd like to make money, we'd like to make money. let's go to the arctic, the gulf of mexico. >> ceo have great relationships in the world. that's nonsense what reince priebus is saying. it is fair to say rex tillerson's long career had been good for exxonmobil shareholders. there is no complaint about him as a ceo. there are some things that he has done that have been specifically counter to u.s. foreign policy deals with the kurds that he's made, a deal with russia, going up against u.s. sanctions in russia for invading ukraine but the bottom line i

he's been ceo of exxon for a decade. it in an interview with chris wallace that airs on fox news sunday tomorrow, president-elect trump said tillerson's interactions and relationships with world leaders that makes him an attractive candidate to be the nation's secretary of state. listen. >> let me ask you about rex tiller areson. >> okay, head of exxon mobile. why does a business excutive make sense as chief diplomat? >> he is much more. he is a world class player and in charge of the largest company in the world. he's in charge of an oil company that doubled the size of the norrest competitor. and a company that is unbelievably managed and he knows many of the player and knows them well and he does massive deals in russia and for the company. >> reporter: mr. trump said he is close to it a decision about the coveted position. rowdy guiliani with drou his name and the remaining possibilities are governor mitt rom no and corker of tennessee. general david poet pete, former ford ceo and ambassador john bolton. we hear that

in the fact that exxon has this huge deal in russia. that because of the sanctions against russia got halted, that has cost exxon about $1 billion so far, according to regulatory filings. rex tillerson in march said, we're very anxious to get back to work there. therein lies the questions about what hat you're wearing as the business ha businessman he is now and if you can completely take that off, becoming secretary of state. i have to leave it there. thank you all very much. ron, betsy and andre. >>> moving and switching gears to an important story. tomorrow marks six months since the orlando nightclub attack, one of the worst mass shootings in u.s. history. next, you will hear a firsthand account from the police who were called to the scene of the crime and who helped in the immediate aftermath. you're live in the cnn newsroom. lemonheads/schoolhouse rock) zero really can be a hero. get zero down, zero deposit, zero due at signing, and zero first month's payment on select volkswagen models. right now at the volkswagen sign then drive

all energy companies benefit from higher oil prices but exxon here, exxon is the real winner because when oil prices fell to $40, the company had to wind up scaling back its share of buy backs and dividend hikes. shareholders could be rewarded. they're buying into shares hoping they'll get that reward later. >>> as for what else is on the table for investors, the fed meeting beginning today. decision day coming tomorrow. carol, all the expectations are the fed will hike rates tomorrow. carol? >> oh, boy. you'll be back with me for sure. alisyn kosik, thanks so much. >>> still to come in the "newsroom," donald trump makes a key announcement about the future of his business empire and daughter ivanka, she's not part of it. why? i am benedict arnold, the infamous traitor. and i know a thing or two about trading. so i trade with e*trade, where true traders trade on a trademarked trade platform that has all the... get off the computer traitor! i won't. (cannon sound) i won't. i pull inspiration from around the globe. jared's commitment to quality and craftsmanship has helped bring my desi

as the head of exxon-mobil, he knows where the oil is. it's not like they are intimate friends and god parents to each other's children. >> kellyanne conway defending rex tillerson who emerged as the most likely pick for secretary of state. the ceo exxon-mobil. a business relationship with russia. three years ago, he was awarded the order of friendship, one of the highest honors russia gives to foreign citizens. that's if trump decides to go through with picking him. we have this drama and will he or will he not be picked. news of another boimt. busy day here. >> as usual. donald trump is at trump hour and it's always a busy time. the president of goldman sachs has been picked as director of national economic policy for the trump administration. this is the third person connected with goldman sachs who has been named by president-elect trump. he is a pick for nominee and along with steve bannon who has been connected with goldman sachs. in terms of rex tillerson. they are just talking about what kellyanne conway it is that it's being blow

stock and his exxon stock and his exxon pension? that guy, the ceo of exxon, the guy who has only ever worked at exxon. he started working there in the 1970s. he's never held another job. he has just reportedly risen to the top of president-elect trump's secretary of state list. there's a theme in tonight's election. it has an accent. liberty mutual stood with me when i was too busy with the kids to get a repair estimate. liberty did what? yeah, with liberty mutual all i needed to do to get an estimate was snap a photo of the damage and voila! voila! (sigh) i wish my insurance company had that... wait! hold it... hold it boys... there's supposed to be three of you... where's your brother? where's your brother? hey, where's charlie? charlie?! you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you. liberty stands with you™ liberty mutual insurance hey, need fast try cool mint zantac. it releases a cooling sensation in your mouth and throat. zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. nexium can take 24 hours. try cool mint zantac. no

stock and his exxon stock and his exxon pension? that guy, the ceo of exxon, the guy who has only ever worked at exxon. he started working there in the 1970s. he's never held another job. he has just reportedly risen to the top of president-elect trump's secretary of state list. there's a theme in tonight's election. it has an accent. >>> the american idea. you don't let anything keep you sidelined. that's why you drink ensure. with 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. for the strength and energy to get back to doing... ...what you love. ensure. always be you. like their photo claims tool. it helps settle your claim quickly, which saves time, which saves money. and when they save, you save. that's auto and home insurance for the modern world. esurance, an allstate company. click or call. esurance does insurance a smarter way, which saves money. like bundling home and auto coverage, which reduces red tape, which saves money. and when they save, you save. that's home and auto insurance for the modern world. esurance, an al

as a ceo of exxon mobile mr. tillerson has been in charge of the world's largest oil and gas company that has dealings in 50 countries. in an interview with chris wallace that airs tomorrow on fox news sunday mr. trump says it's tilerson's interactions with world leaders thattan abls him to be a candidate for secretary of state. listen. >> why does a business executive make sense as the chief diplomat? >> in his case he is much more than a business executive. he is a world-class player. he's in charge of i guess the largest company in the world. he's in charge of an oil company that's pretty much double the size of his next nearest competitor. it's been a company that's been unbelievably managed. and to me a great advantage is he knows many of the players. and he knows them well. he does massive deals in russia. massive deals -- for the company. not for himself, but for the company. >> tillerson does offer to bring executive leadership to the role if chosen. the company has made over $200 billion in profit under

tillerson acting for exxon. it's not even mr. tillerson. the question here is whether donald trump, a novice in the area of foreign affairs, is going to, by himself, throw aside a decade of american foreign policy to oppose, principal principally, the decision by russia to invade another country. this is about russia's decision to invade its neighbor, ukraine. and all the problems since have -- >> a sovereign country. but another clarity about the war in iraq. there was some time many years ago, jamie, one might have been excused for believing that iraq had weapons of mass destruction and perhaps they were behind al qaeda and all of these things. there is really very little reason in 2016 to have that belief and yet we expect that the former u.s. ambassador to the u.n., john bolton being nominated as deputy secretary of state, what he told the washington examiner last year. i think the decision to overthrow saddam was correct but i think the decisions after that were wrong. i think wost was the decision to withdraw u.s. and coalition forces

the exxon/mobil ceo. here's trump speaking a little earlier today in an interview talking about, on fox news, in fact. going to be on fox news tomorrow. take a listen to what he has to say. >> in his case he's much more than a business executive. i mean, he's a world-class player. he's in charge of, i guess, the largest company in the world. he's in charge of an oil company that's pretty much double the size of his next nearest competitor. it's been a company that's been unbelievably managed, and to me a great advantage is he knows many of the players, and he knows them well. he does massive deals in russia. he does massive deals for the company, no for himself, for the company. >> talking about tillerson there. can millennials like the idea of tillerson as secretary of state? he's not one of the usual suspects, if you will? >> no. it is incredibly transparent. trump was elected on the platform of phony popularism, it's becoming more apparent with every appointment he makes. betsy devos, never actually --