Trump arrived in Washington, D.C., Tuesday night and addressed more than 147 diplomats and ambassadors at a black-tie dinner, during which he scanned the room for longtime ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, whom Trump has nominated to be Secretary of State, and said:

President-elect Donald Trump: “Rex Tillerson—and these lights are bright, but he’s around here someplace. Where’s our Rex? Wow. What a job. And, Renda, thank you very much. Thanks, Rex. I think it’s tougher than he thought. Again, he’s led this charmed life. He goes into a country, takes the oil, goes into another country. It’s tough dealing with these politicians, right? He’s going to be so incredible, and I’m very proud of him.”

During Tillerson’s confirmation hearing, he faced opposition from some members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,including Florida Senator Marco Rubio and others, over Tillerson’s close ties to Russia. But even if Rubio votes against Tillerson and the committee does not approve him, committee chairman Sen. Bob Corker may take the unusual step of calling a vote on whether to send Tillerson’s confirmation to the full Senate—a move that hasn’t happened in decades.