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The man chosen by Donald Trump to represent America's interests abroad has been pounded by U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill over foreign policy.
Rex Tillerson, poised to become U.S. Secretary of State in the new Trump administration, was grilled on his views over Russia, Syria and Iran.
The confirmation hearing revealed just how hard it might get to represent Donald Trump's global world view, as Nina-Maria Potts reports.
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A rocky start to a potentially rockier road ahead.
Rex Tillerson's confirmation hearing came on the same day Donald Trump denied Russia was blackmailing him over compromising information and tape linked to a previous trip to Moscow, saying there's no evidence, otherwise Moscow would have released it by now.
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He dismissed the allegations as fake news, insisting intelligence chiefs had not - as reported- briefed him.
Meanwhile the pounding that his new Secretary of State came under on Capitol Hill, reveals just how difficult defending the new Trump era abroad, is about to get.
While Rex Tillerson sought to take a harder line on Russia- in stark contrast with Donald Trump's denials- he ran into trouble when Florida Republican Marco Rubio made it clear his answers on Russia fell short:
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Democrats pounded the former head of ExxonMobil, on a range of thorny issues, including climate change, ethical conflicts of interests and Iran.
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Rex Tillerson came under fire from Democrat and Hillary Clinton's running mate, Tim Caine- who suggested the Kremlin might have a better grasp of Donald Trump's finances than his own Secretary of State.
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Still, Republicans declared the hearing had gone well, as Rex Tillerson sought to prove himself more hawkish than his incoming boss.
He did also pledge to review outgoing President Barack Obama's internationally brokered deal with Iran.
But he would not commit to tearing it up, in a move likely to relieve the Obama administration, which sees the deal as a a cornerstone its foreign policy.
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Differences of opinion with Donald Trump also emerged on trade.
Donald Trump has campaigned relentlessly against the multi-national Trans-Pacific partnership deal- Rex Tillerson had supported it, but did say during his hearing, that bits of it needed review.
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Rex Tillerson's nomination is among the most contentious of Donald Trump's pick for cabinet- and it's still not entirely clear whether he will hold- or shape- the party line.
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