A feud is breaking out within the Republican Party as it tries to come to grips whether to work with Russia or against it, CNN reports.
The GOP is being split between President-elect Donald Trump's affinity for Russian President Vladimir Putin and those who proudly cite the party's role in helping dismantle the Soviet Union, according to the cable news network.
Further complicating the issue are growing claims the Russians hacked the presidential elections.
CNN says the divide within the party is already threatening to detract from the confirmation of Rex Tillerson, Trump's nominee for secretary of state. Tillerson, who heads Exxon Mobil, has a personal friendship with Putin and opposed U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia after the Kremlin's annexation of Crimea, CNN notes.
And, according to CNN, it would take just a few Republican senators joining with all the Democrats to kill off the Tillerson nomination. Some GOP senators are already expressing concerns about Tillerson's close ties to Russia.
"If (someone doesn't) believe sanctions are appropriate, given what Putin has been doing all over the world, including in our backyard, then I don't think they have the judgment to be secretary of state," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said.
"Because if you don't go after Russia, you're inviting the other bad actors on the planet to come after you."
And The New York Times reports congressional Republicans are facing a dilemma over Russia and Trump.
"Will they maintain the tough line on Russia that has been central to their foreign policy for decades, or cede that ground to Democrats?" the newspaper asked.
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