5/21/2019

FOREIGN POLICY/HOUSE OF REPS/REX TILLERSON/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with a handful of House members and staffers for seven hours Tuesday [5-21-19] to discuss President Donald Trump’s foreign policy decision-making, including on issues related to Russia. Tillerson served roughly a year as America’s chief diplomat before the president fired him in March 2018. Still, he had a hand in several major policy matters, including how to deal with challenges from North Korea and Iran. A congressional aide confirmed that Tillerson met with New York Rep. Eliot Engel, the Democratic chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Texas Rep. Mike McCaul, the panel’s top Republican. House staffers also joined the conversations. The talks, which were first reported by The Daily Beast, covered ‘a wide range of topics including Russia and the foreign policy decision-making in the administration,’ the aide said. The aide described the gathering as an interview of Tillerson, adding that the former secretary of State reached out to the committee and volunteered for a sit-down after learning members were interested in talking to him.”

Nahal Toosi, “Tillerson talks Russia with members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee,” Politico, May 21, 2019 8:55 pm