Following the Senate confirmation hearing last week for Rex Tillerson, Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner walked away impressed by the candidate presented to him as the incoming presidential administration and its appointees begin to filter in closer to filling their executive branch positions.

Gardner said he came away from the confirmation hearing for Tillerson pleased by the former ExxonMobil CEO’s presentation.

“Here is a guy who is not from Washington or the political world,” Gardner, a Republican, said during a Fox News interview. “He spent nine hours before a committee without a single note, without a briefing book, without a pen and paper to write questions down.

“He made it very clear the last eight years of leadership by Barack Obama has weakened this country, emboldened leaders in Iran and made Russia have no fear of the United States …”

Because Gardner is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he was one of the senators responsible for first hearing Tillerson make his case.

Gardner also made a positive comment in a tweet to his constituents that said, “In today’s [Senate Foreign Relations Committee] hearing, I was pleased to hear Mr. Tillerson commit to a resolute response to China’s aggression in the South China Sea.”

Gardner’s statements last week appeared to represent the senator’s ability to separate Trump’s administrative selections from Trump himself, a man Gardner did not hide his frustrations with during the 2016 election cycle.

Like many presidential appointees throughout history, Tillerson and the company he oversees have greased the relationship skids with Capitol Hill with significant amounts of money donated to congressmembers’ campaign committees throughout the years – specifically the members of the committee responsible for delivering a thumbs up or down to the full Senate on his nomination for secretary of state.

Gardner’s Senate campaign committee received a $23,000 contribution from ExxonMobil’s political action committee since Tillerson took over as CEO of the company. But Gardner was not alone in receiving a donation. In fact, all of his Republican Foreign Relations Committee colleagues received contributions from the ExxonMobil PAC as well, though Gardner and Johnny Isakson, R-GA, received the highest dollar amounts.

This does not take away from the fact that, while he may now approve of the president-elect’s pick for secretary of state, Gardner has been an outspoken critic of the Trump. Gardner has specifically differed with Trump on foreign policy toward Russia and cybersecurity. Before the election, Gardner even at one point said he would not vote for the Republican presidential nominee, but would instead write in his running mate, Mike Pence.

Unlike many Republicans in Congress who appeared to be positioning themselves for political alliances with the new president, Gardner has also avoided praising Trump.

Instead, he merely suggested moving forward in a statement to The Colorado Statesman that avoided siding with anyone.

“We have a duty to form a new government and ensure our president has a team in place as quickly as possible so we can get to work for the American people,” Gardner said. “Throughout my entire time in public service, my goal has always been to focus on what’s best for Coloradans and political elections do not change that.”

Gardner did not come off as an immediate fan of Tillerson either. Not long after Trump nominated Tillerson as secretary of state, Gardner released a statement simply emphasizing his nomination would require Senate approval.

“Congress has the constitutional responsibility of advice and consent and we will vigorously exercise it,” Gardner said before Tillerson’s confirmation hearing.

Gardner – like other members of Congress – focused his skepticism on Trump’s support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In 2013, Putin awarded Tillerson the Order of Friendship, one of Russia’s highest honors for foreigners.

The award followed Tillerson’s negotiation of a deal that gave ExxonMobil oil-drilling rights in the Russian Arctic and Russian oil company Rosneft a role in the U.S. company’s North American projects.

Tillerson has advocated stronger ties with Russia and Putin despite warnings from U.S. intelligence agencies about the dangers.

Several of the senators asked Tillerson about his ties with Putin.

Gardner’s questions touched on military threats from North Korea and cybersecurity, an issue also focused now on Russia.

Tillerson responded by saying, “Diplomacy will be ineffective if it’s not backed up by the threat of force.”

He recommended maintaining U.S. sanctions against North Korea and criticized Obama for being too lax in enforcing them.

Gardner asked him, “How will you prioritize cybersecurity at the State Department?”

Tillerson responded, “It is important that we put in place a comprehensive strategy for dealing with cyber threats, the appropriate norms of behavior, use and appropriate response when violated. U.S. will have to lead on this because no one is doing it. It is a complicated issue but we cannot delay.”

He described the United States as “extraordinarily vulnerable” to the “great and most complex threat” of cyberattacks.

Cybersecurity became a top issue for Gardner after the CIA revealed last month that the Russian government meddled in the U.S. presidential election and hacked computers of the Democratic National Committee. The CIA says Putin was trying to sway the election in Trump’s favor.

Trump has said the accusations were “ridiculous.”

Gardner responded to the first CIA reports by calling on the Senate to create a permanent committee on cybersecurity. The Colorado senator also is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy.

“Recent reports from our intelligence community concluded that Russia attempted to influence the U.S. presidential election, serving as yet another reminder of the hose of emerging threats in cyberspace,” Gardner said in a statement. “These allegations must be thoroughly investigated and I will continue to work with my colleagues to address the sanctioning of Russia and, specifically, bad actors identified following an investigation.”

Gardner’s differences of opinion with Trump predate news about Russian hacking and influence in the presidential election campaign.

During the campaign, an old tape surfaced publicly of Trump making sexist remarks about women to Access Hollywood television host Billy Bush.

Gardner reacted with a tweet saying, “I am committed to defeating Hillary Clinton. The only way this is now possible is with a new nominee that reflects the values of our country and our party.”

His tweet also said, “I will not vote for Donald Trump. If Donald Trump wishes to defeat Hillary Clinton, he should do the only thing that will allow us to do so – step aside and allow Mike Pence to be the Republican party’s nominee. If he fails to do so, I will not vote for Hillary Clinton but will instead write-in my vote for Mike Pence.”