Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has had a rocky reign at the State Department. Since his confirmation in February 2017, the former ExxonMobil chief executive — who had no prior experience in public service before his appointment — has publicly opposed President Trump on a range of crucial national security issues. Here are eight things to know about Tillerson, America's top diplomat:

1. He's been at odds with Trump throughout his tenure.

Tillerson, 65, has disagreed with Trump on a host of issues. He's attempted to salvage the Iran nuclear deal while his boss threatens to end it. He's tried to go through diplomatic channels in easing tensions with North Korea — while Trump tweets that Tillerson is "wasting his time." And Trump has undercut his efforts with Arab allies.

2. He has pushed out 2,000 career diplomats at the State Department, as well as slashed its budget.

In an effort to make diplomacy "more efficient," Tillerson has pushed out more than 2,000 career diplomats from the department's ranks. He's cut the department's spending on foreign aid, climate change, women's empowerment, and other areas. He's also left open vacancies from retirements, hiring freezes, or removals. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have criticized his taking an ax to the department.

3. He reportedly called Trump a "moron."

In October, NBC News reported that Tillerson was so furious at Trump over the summer that he privately lambasted him as a "moron." After the news broke, Tillerson quickly arranged a press conference to quell the reports, telling reporters he thought Trump was "smart." But he didn't directly deny the "moron" comment.

4. This is his first job in government.

Though Tillerson has extensive experience in international business, he has no experience in public service. In fact, the Washington Post reported that his lack of experience in the public sector is “a first in modern history for a potential secretary of state.” Tillerson was at Exxon Mobil for four decades, ever since he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1975. He started as a production engineer and steadily rose up the ranks, becoming president and director of the energy giant in 2004. In 2006, he was tapped as the chairman and CEO of the company. He has brokered oil and gas deals all over the world, including Venezuela, Sudan, and Kurdistan. In 2015, Tillerson ranked no. 20 on Forbes’s list of most powerful people in the world. His salary was $27.3 million (and that's after an 18 percent pay cut), and he had an estimated $218 million in Exxon stock plus and a pension plan valued at about $69.5 million, the Washington Post reported.

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5. He was close with Vladimir Putin.

In 2013, Putin awarded Tillerson the Order of Friendship, a decoration bestowed upon foreign nationals whose work has helped improve relations between Russia's government and its citizens. His coziness with Putin and Russia — who, American intelligence agencies say, interfered with the U.S. election — has concerned lawmakers like Sen. John McCain and Sen. Marco Rubio. McCain called Putin “a thug, bully and a murderer,” adding, “anybody else who describes him as anything else is lying.” At his confirmation hearing, Rubio asked Tillerson if Putin is a war criminal. “I would not use that term,” Tillerson said.

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In September, however, Putin indicated that the relationship is not what it once was, saying Tillerson had "fallen in with bad company."

6. He says climate change is real but not an imminent security threat.

Tillerson has previously acknowledged that climate change is real. At a recent shareholder meeting, he said, “We believe that addressing the risk of climate change is a global issue.” However, he also insisted that fossil fuels continue to be the only viable energy source for humans. “The reality is there is no alternative energy source known on the planet or available to us today,” he said. At the same shareholder’s meeting, company shareholders voted against four investor recommendations for addressing climate change. The SEC is currently investigating ExxonMobil over how the company accounts for the cost of climate change when valuing assets and future projects. At his confirmation hearing, Tillerson said, "The risk of climate change does exist, and the consequences could be serious enough that action should be taken" but our ability to predict the effect of greenhouse-gas concentrations on climate is "very limited." He also said of climate change, "I don’t see it as the imminent national security threat that perhaps others do.”

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7. LGBTQ advocates have been critical of his record on gay rights.

Tillerson served as a Boy Scout and Eagle Scout, and later served as the national president of the Boy Scouts of America from 2010 to 2011. The New York Times notes that though the organization did not accept gay members during his tenure, as a member of the executive board, Tillerson voted in 2013 to lift the ban. However, the Human Rights Campaign has voiced concern over gay rights under Tillerson's appointment, noting that ExxonMobil has been very slow to adopt LGBTQ-inclusive policies.

8. He did not originally want to be secretary of state.

Tillerson revealed that he did not originally want the role during an interview with Independent Journal Review’s Erin McPike, the only journalist allowed to cover Tillerson's March trip to Asia. He said, "I didn’t want this job. I didn’t seek this job." An aide then asked him why he said yes, and Tillerson replied, "My wife told me I’m supposed to do this."

He went on to explain that he had never met Trump before the election, though when he was president-elect, Trump asked to talk with Tillerson "about the world." At the end of their conversation, he asked Tillerson to be secretary of state.

McPike reported that Tillerson said, "I was supposed to retire in March, this month. I was going to go to the ranch to be with my grandkids."

9. He was ousted by Trump in favor of CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

Trump's announcement comes just one day after Tillerson spoke out about believing Russia was responsible for a brutal nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy living in the U.K. The White House had hedged around pinning responsibility on Russia.

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This article was originally published Dec. 16, 2016, and has been updated.

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Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an award-winning journalist and former senior reporter at Jezebel. She won a Writers Guild Award for her investigative essay “Stories About My Brother.” Her work was featured in The Best American Magazine Writing 2021 and has appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post Magazine, Marie Claire, Salon, Elle, and elsewhere. PrachiGupta lives in New York City.