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Tillerson confirmed as top US diplomat Trump cabinet: Rex Tillerson confirmed as top US diplomat
(35 minutes later)
Former oil chief Rex Tillerson confirmed by US Senate as President Trump’s secretary of state Rex Tillerson, the former chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil, has been confirmed by the US Senate to become President Donald Trump’s secretary of state.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. The Texas native, 64, was cleared for full Senate approval in a 56-43 vote.
If you want to receive Breaking News alerts via email, or on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App then details on how to do so are available on this help page. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts. The vote came after Senate Republicans changed the rules in order to approve Mr Trump's nominees for health and treasury, despite a Democratic boycott.
Mr Tillerson, who has never held political office, faced intense scrutiny over his ties to Russia.
The former oil chief forged multibillion-dollar deals with Russia's state oil company, Rosneft, and was awarded the Order of Friendship by the Kremlin in 2013.
In his Senate confirmation hearing, he admitted that the West had reason to be alarmed by Russian aggression, but he refused under questioning to label Mr Putin a war criminal.
As America's top diplomat, Mr Tillerson will handle relations with countries including China and Russia and negotiate matters such as climate change and human rights, on behalf of President Trump.