WASHINGTON — Protesters from the anti-war group CodePink were the first in line to enter Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson’s confirmation hearing Wednesday – and the first to be ejected.
Standing outside the hearing room early this morning, wearing pink boas and sparkly tiaras, the women raised mock champagne glasses and made a toast: “To Exxon and the U.S. State Department.”
Spokeswoman Ariel Gold said the group was protesting the major conflict of interest that Tillerson would have as a longtime Exxon Mobil executive who would become America’s chief diplomat, if confirmed by the Senate.
A State Department run by Tillerson would be “driven by profits of such industries as oil” and not take the threat of climate change seriously, she said.
“Tillerson says he’s not a climate denier,” she said. “However, he has directly helped Exxon to cover up evidence on climate change, and to avoid regulations, so I think we have reason to expect that that will continue.”
The group was ejected from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing almost as soon as it began for raising signs, a violation of the hearing rules.
But they were not alone.
Just minutes into Tillerson’s opening statement, a woman stood up and chanted, “”Rex Tillerson, look at me. My home was destroyed in Hurricane Sandy.” She held a sign that said “Reject Rexx” and carried the logo of Greenpeace, an environmental group that has encouraged its constituents to call on their senators to reject Tillerson’s nomination.
Committee members questioned Tillerson extensively on climate change and on Exxon Mobil’s failure to disclose information about climate science that it discovered decades ago.
That wasn’t good enough for the protesters.
“I have no faith that Rex Tillerson is really understanding what he’s to be held accountable for, which is decades of climate denial and the damage being done to our climate, to people like that protester who was escorted out earlier who was impacted by Hurricane Sandy,” said Greenpeace spokeswoman Cassady Craighill.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., was interrupted repeatedly by protesters who directly addressed the committee members.
“Senators, please don’t put Exxon in charge of the State Department. Protect our children and grandchildren,” one protester said. Another called on the committee members to “be brave” and “protect the vulnerable” by blocking Tillerson’s nomination.
Others in the audience said they have some concerns about Tillerson’s nomination, but they came to learn about the nominee’s views, not protest them.
Mehran Ibrahimi said he hopes America continues to monitor Iran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement.
“We know that Exxon bought Iranian oil under sanctions. We want that to be stopped,” he said.
The Iranian native and about a dozen others sat in the audience quietly, wearing yellow windbreakers that read #FreeIran on the front and back.
“We are hoping after the long-term of appeasement policy toward Iran, maybe the policy will change,” he said.
Tillerson has indicated that he understands the difference between being the chief executive of a multinational company and serving as the country’s top diplomat.
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