Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) tweeted incorrectly on Friday that Rex Tillerson, President Trump's nominee for secretary of state, will not divest from ExxonMobil, where he worked for 40 years.
Schumer received a "Pants on Fire" rating from PolitiFact for his tweet, meaning the New York Democrats' claim was "not even close to the truth," according to the fact-checking site.
"Pants on Fire" is the strongest rating issued by PolitiFact for false and incorrect statements.
Tillerson was the CEO of ExxonMobil from 2006 to 2016, until Trump tapped him to head the State Department, and divested from the oil giant shortly afterward.
Contrary to Schumer's tweet, Tillerson agreed to sell more than 600,000 Exxon shares in early January. He also gave up $4.1 million in bonuses, as well as retiree benefits, and has an independent trust that will not be allowed to invest in Exxon, according to PolitiFact.
Tillerson retired from Exxon on Dec. 31 and is entitled to 2 million Exxon shares paid out over 10 years–a package worth more than $170 million as of Jan. 27. However, under the ethics agreement, Exxon will pay out those shares in cash, and they will be put in an independently managed trust that will not be allowed to invest in Exxon.
Schumer's office admitted that the tweet was incorrect and that it would be changed.
Tillerson won't divest from #Exxon, won't recuse himself, doesn't display values of American foreign policy--I'm voting no.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 27, 2017
Schumer has already announced that he will not support Tillerson's nomination for secretary of state in the upcoming Senate vote.
Tillerson's announcement that he would divest from Exxon has received praise. The director of the Office on Government Ethics,Walter Shaub, called it a "clean break from Exxon."
By federal law, Tillerson must recuse himself from any decisions involving Exxon for one year if he is confirmed. Tillerson said that after the first year, he would consult the Ethics Council on any matters involving Exxon and any potential conflicts of interest with his former company.
Tillerson's nomination narrowly passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with an 11-10 vote earlier this month.