The U.S. Senate confirmed Rex Tillerson as President Donald Trump's secretary of state on Wednesday, filling a key spot on the Republican's national security team.

As voting continued, 53 senators had backed Tillerson, and 42 had voted no. The vote was largely along party lines, with every Republican favoring Tillerson and nearly every Democrat opposed.

Sen. Ben Cardin, the Foreign Relations Committee's top Democrat, says he feared Tillerson would be a "yes man" and would not be able to prevent Trump from pursuing a misguided foreign policy that leads the country "on a march of folly."

But Republicans had the numbers to push Tillerson's nomination through. They got help from several Democrats who crossed party lines.

Tillerson's ties to Russia and his stand on sanctioning Moscow have been a point of contention.