U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin and Elizabeth Warren Issue Statement on Exxon-Mobil Payout Deal for Trump’s Secretary of State Nominee Rex Tillerson

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) today spoke out after Exxon-Mobil announced that President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will receive a $180 million payout deal before entering public service.

This payment scheme would be illegal under Senator Baldwin’s reform to slow the revolving door and stop “golden parachute” payouts and bonuses.

“Too many Americans feel that Washington is broken and it isn't working for them. Now that the Republican establishment owns Washington, it’s clear that corporate special interests will be calling the shots and writing the rules to make a rigged system work for them.

“President-elect Trump made a commitment to ‘drain the swamp’ in Washington by reducing the influence of special interests in government, but this egregious payout deal is nothing more than a golden parachute that flies in the face of his campaign promise. This also reinforces that the American people deserve to have all of the President-elect’s nominees disclose any compensation they will receive that is contingent upon entering public service. It is important to know how Rex Tillerson plans to recuse himself from matters relating to the oil industry.

“Government officials are supposed to work on behalf of the public interest and our common good. The American people can’t afford to have our Secretary of State in the pocket of powerful corporations and special interests.”