Delaware Senator Chris Coons On Rex Tillerson And Russia: 'This Is Not A Business Deal'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Delaware Senator Chris Coons explained the problems he has with two of Donald Trump's cabinet nominees, Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State and Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General, in an interview on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT with Dom Giordano.
Coons said that Tillerson did not articulate enough of a clear and determined opposition to Vladimir Putin and Russia to ease his concerns.
"Rex Tillerson brings to the table the experience of having worked with Putin closely in having done business in Russia. Look, I think that could be, conceivably, a positive that he's got a lot of experience in business and a lot experience around the world, but I needed to hear clearer answers and a more clear eyed assessment that Vladimir Putin is not our partner. This is not a business deal to be worked out."
Regarding Sessions, he made apparent that too many significant policy disputes separate the two in terms of applying the law fairly.
"There were many, many more matters where a bipartisan group of us were trying to make progress on something, whether it was criminal justice reform or outlawing the use of torture or restoring the Voting Rights Act where he wasn't willing to step forward and help us and work with me on issues of justice. I have no quarrel with Jeff Sessions as an individual but his policies, the votes he was willing to take and the positions he took are really different from mine."
Coons also voiced his support for the criticisms leveled against Sessions by fellow Senator Cory Booker, of New Jersey.
"The point that I think Senator Booker was making was that he has very little confidence that Senator Sessions will make enforcing civil rights laws a priority and he worries that, when it comes to tough questions, where there's an argument to be made on either side, for example, whether or not to find some way to work responsibly to focus immigration enforcement on those with a criminal record but not take enforcement action against adults who were brought here as children by their parents without their knowledge or consent, Senator Sessions was fairly unyielding on those points."