Discussion: Tillerson Defends Trump's Proposed Cuts To State Department Budget

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Tillerson, truncated and translated: As soon as my share of the Rosneft money is washed I’m outta here anyway.

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maybe we should just close Foggy Bottom and have Tillerson operate out of Benghazi with the reduced security budget too…

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“As time goes by, there will be fewer military conflicts that the U.S. will be directly engaged in.”-- So why increase military spending by 10% or $54 billion? More evidence that because you are CEO of Exxon doesn’t make a person smart.UFB

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“As time goes by, there will be fewer military conflicts that the U.S. will be directly engaged in.”

Um … does Tillerson understand that there is little correlation between military conflicts and the needs of the State Department? Has he even bothered to talk to anyone in the department he’s now leading?

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“As time goes by, there will be fewer military conflicts that the U.S. will be directly engaged in.”

That’s an argument for cutting Military spending, not State Department you borscht gargling Russian plant.

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“As time goes by, there will be fewer military conflicts that the U.S. will be directly engaged in.”

…so were going to increase military spending.

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A smart person? Hmm, I bet he is but he certainly sounds out of his depth. Likely a feature, not a bug.

Tillerson: We need a new strategy to deal with the NORKs.

Lack of press on Asia trip: What would that strategy be?

Tillerson: Um.

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Well, he must be rather smart, but you don’t have to be a genius to lead the world’s 2nd largest oil company to profits.

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Fewer conflicts requiring boring management and tediously embarrassing ‘press conferences’, but vastly more money being shovelled into the private MIC.

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That’s pretty funny considering Lindsey Graham called it a non-starter.

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Well, if military spending is going to be the primary role of government, then the State Department becomes merely the Pentagon’s civilian branch.

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I’ll grant this to Tillerson: he’s doing more damage than even his harshest critics predicted.

@jcblues I wouldn’t be surprised if they sell off the land for luxury condos or rent out the space to Jamba Juice and the like. Jared is the de facto SoS and to my knowledge he hasn’t visited once.

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Exxon’s Shares Lagged Under CEO Rex Tillerson

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Ok, so he’s an idiot:)

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Tillerson said something? Rex must view that as a failure in itself.

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maybe a lunch stand featuring gin-u-whine Cheeto Donnie Taco Bowls…

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“It’s dead on arrival – It’s not going to happen,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., according to NBC News. “It would be a disaster.”

“If you take soft power off the table then you’re never going to win the war,” Graham continued. “What’s most disturbing about the cut in the State Department’s budget, it shows a lack of understanding what it takes to win the war.”

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Rex is doing his Asian jaunt with one reporter in tow: Erin McPike, White House correspondent for the conservative website Independent Journal Review.

But there is a good reason for this, according to a White House press secretary: Tillerson was cutting costs by taking a smaller plane. This fits in nicely with the White House’s newfound dedication to frugality.

Fun Fact: Reporters accompanying government officials on state-sanctioned trips reimburse the government for their travel expenses.

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Exactly. And if there are going to be less military conflicts, you’d think soft power would be needed more than ever.

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