ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson will not be asked to provide his tax returns to pass his confirmation process for secretary of state, Sen. Bob Corker said Thursday. The announcement is likely to trigger alarm among the many Democrats who’d been pushing for such a disclosure, arguing that tax transparency is a must for a nominee running a multinational corporation. Corker, the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, shrugged off concerns, however, saying Thursday in a statement that it was a “long-standing precedent” to not ask nominees for tax returns. “He already has submitted a completed nominee questionnaire and will soon submit an extensive financial disclosure. Furthermore, prior to his confirmation hearing, he will go through the same ethics and FBI checks as previous Secretary of State nominees,” Corker said. Tillerson, who has strong ties to Moscow and investments in numerous countries around the globe, is following in the footsteps of President-elect Donald Trump, who also did not release his tax returns to the public.