Rex Tillerson talks tough on Russia in private Capitol Hill meetings

“He said, ‘Look, I understand Putin and Russia is a playground bully and they only respect strength and you need to come from a position of strength to them or you are going to have a lot of problems,’” one senior Senate staffer who was not authorized to speak about the private meeting told me, paraphrasing Tillerson’s remarks. “He was at 30,000 feet and when pushed on sanctions, he wouldn’t fully endorse any particular direction.”

One senator who met with Tillerson, who did not want to publicly comment on the private meeting, told me that Tillerson made clear he understands the overall threat Russia poses to the United States and our allies. But Tillerson punted on all specific questions regarding the dispute between President-elect Donald Trump and the intelligence community over whether the Russian government interfered in the presidential election through hacking and other means.

“I said, ‘Do you see Russia as being involved in our elections? What are you willing to do about it? That’s my test for him,” the senator said. “The first thing he said basically is, “Let me get back to the Trump people.’”