XOM Exxon Mobil Corp

WASHINGTON—Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Rex Tillerson, the top choice for secretary of state in a Trump administration, faces bipartisan resistance in Congress over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Republican hesitation over Mr. Tillerson marked the first sign of division between congressional GOP and the Trump team over its likely cabinet picks. All of President-elect Donald Trump's other nominees so far appear likely to be confirmed by the Senate.

Mr. Tillerson, a seasoned deal-maker whose company has a long history of doing business in Russia, is drawing unease from senators on both sides of the aisle. Republicans can likely afford to lose only two GOP votes next year in the new Congress when it meets to consider Mr. Trump's nominees.

"It's a matter of concern to me that he has such a close personal relationship with Vladimir Putin," Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) said Sunday on CBS, noting that the two men had done "enormous deals" together. "That would color his approach to Vladimir Putin and the Russian threat."

Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said Sunday on CNN that he was "concerned about his [Mr. Tillerson's] relationship with Russia. We want to make sure that the secretary of state is a person who represents America."

Mr. Trump defended Mr. Tillerson as a "world-class player" and said it was "a great advantage" that Mr. Tillerson already knows "many of the players," noting that he does "massive deals in Russia."

"He's more than a business executive," Mr. Trump told Fox News in an interview broadcast Sunday.

Trump transition officials said the president-elect is likely to announce his choice for secretary of state midweek. Mr. Trump has given himself time to alter course should his views change or if he concludes Mr. Tillerson couldn't win Senate confirmation.

Alternatives he has been vetting include former Central Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus, 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.), who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

"It's not over, but it looks like Mr. Tillerson is certainly way out in front right now," said U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R., Calif.), who also had discussions with Trump transition officials about becoming secretary of state.

No Senate Republicans have yet said they would vote against Mr. Tillerson. Mr. Corker said in a tweet Saturday that the CEO is "a very impressive individual."

Still, a number of senators expressed reservations. Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, the panel that would hold confirmation hearings on the nomination, said in a tweet Sunday that "being a 'friend of Vladimir' is not an attribute I am hoping for" in the next secretary of state.

The U.S. and its allies imposed sanctions two years ago on Russia after the country's invasion of Crimea and its conflicts with Ukraine.

Exxon has spent years lobbying the State Department on trade and energy issues, including hydraulic fracturing and U.S. relations with Russia. In 2014, the company lobbied the department on a bill that sought to broaden the U.S. economic sanctions, according to federal lobbying disclosures. The bill didn't pass.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that year, Exxon said those sanctions were costing the company $1 billion.

Exxon declined to comment on Mr. Tillerson or his ties to Russia.

Mr. Tillerson is set to retire from Exxon next year. His appointment would still generate the possibility of conflicts of interest because of his financial stake in the company, which explores for oil and gas on six of the world's seven continents and has operations in more than 50 countries. He owns Exxon shares worth $151 million, according a recent securities filing, and many of those shares aren't scheduled to vest for almost a decade.

Mr. Tillerson has known Mr. Putin since he represented Exxon's interests in Russia during the regime of Boris Yeltsin. In a sign of the close relationship, the Kremlin bestowed the country's Order of Friendship decoration on Mr. Tillerson after he struck a 2011 deal that gave Exxon access to prized Arctic resources and allowed Russia state oil company OAO Rosneft to invest in Exxon concessions around the world.

Mr. Tillerson's past opposition to sanctions on Russia is likely to trigger blowback among Senate Republicans, many of whom have rejected Mr. Trump's more conciliatory stance toward the country and its president.

Mr. Tillerson spoke in opposition to the sanctions on Russia at Exxon's annual meeting in 2014, after implementation of the company's 2011 deal with Russia had been blocked by the sanctions.

Michael McFaul, who served as U.S. ambassador to Russia in the Obama administration, said on Sunday sanctions were imposed because of Russia's intervention in Ukraine and should only be lifted if Moscow meets certain conditions.

"I worry that because of his [Tillerson's] previous relationship with these people…that he would have a particular perspective on that issue," he said.

Because of a rules change pushed through by Senate Democrats in November 2013, most presidential nominees can be confirmed with a simple majority, or 51 votes when all senators are present. Previously, nominees needed 60 votes to clear procedural hurdles.

Republicans will hold 52 seats in the Senate next year, giving them little room for internal dissension over Mr. Trump's nominees. The GOP can effectively lose no more than two votes, if all Democrats oppose a nominee, since Vice President-elect Mike Pence could cast a tiebreaking vote.

In a push that could make the margin even narrower, Democrats are urging Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.), Mr. Trump's nominee for attorney general, to recuse himself from voting on potential cabinet colleagues. Mr. Sessions' staff didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Still, Republicans so far have treaded cautiously in opposing Mr. Trump. Last week they played down their differences with the president-elect after he called for 35% tariffs on companies that move factories out of the U.S., a move that would fly in the face of traditional GOP free-market ideology.

In 2011, Exxon lobbied the State Department on "discussions related to the Colombia, Panama and Korea Free Trade agreements, and Russia's ascension into World Trade Organization," according to the company's disclosures. That year, the WTO cleared the way to allow Russia to join, a move that opened Russian markets to foreign competitors by cutting tariffs and breaking down trade barriers.

Exxon has had a "continuous business presence" in Russia for the last two decades, according to its website.

This year, the company has lobbied the State Department largely on trade and energy issues, including an agreement that would open up closed sectors of China's economy.

Overall, Exxon spent $8.8 million on lobbying the federal government in the first three quarters of this year, making it the top lobbyist in the oil-and-gas industry, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of the most recent disclosures.

The company's deals in Russia would be certain to come under scrutiny in Senate confirmation hearings. A number of Republicans have urged Mr. Trump to be wary of Russia, warning that it is trying to expand its influence in ways that run counter to U.S. interests in places such as Ukraine and Syria.

Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, a senior Democrat on Foreign Relations, said the selection of Mr. Tillerson would be "guaranteeing Russia has a willing accomplice in the president's cabinet guiding our nation's foreign policy."

Mr. Tillerson, 64 years old, grew up in Texas and in 1975 joined Exxon, where he has spent his entire career. He has long been closely affiliated with Republican politicians and the Boy Scouts of America, but he has never worked in government.

While unusual, the choice of a corporate leader as secretary of state wouldn't be unprecedented. George Shultz was the executive vice president of engineering giant Bechtel before he became secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan, though Mr. Shultz had been in government in a prior administration.

Eric Morath and John D. McKinnon contributed to this article.

Write to Kristina Peterson at kristina.peterson@wsj.com, Peter Nicholas at peter.nicholas@wsj.com and Rebecca Ballhaus at Rebecca.Ballhaus@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 12, 2016 08:05 ET (13:05 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.