WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – "With respect to the president-elect’s appointments, it is his prerogative, as I’ve always said, for him to appoint who he thinks can best carry out his foreign policy or his domestic policy," Obama said Friday at a White House news conference.
The president was responding to a question as to whether he had concerns about Tillerson as a nominee because of the oil company executive’s connections to Russia.
"There will be plenty of time for members of the Senate to go through the record of all his appointees and determine whether or not they’re appropriate for the job,” Obama added.
On Tuesday, Trump announced his intention to nominate Tillerson, currently the chairman and CEO of oil giant Exxon Mobil, to serve as the United States’ chief diplomat.