Trump Makes It Official: It's Rex Tillerson for State

President-elect Donald Trump ended days of speculation and nominated Rex Tillerson, the Exxon Mobil CEO, to be his secretary of state. Tillerson, a longtime Exxon executive, has no political or diplomatic experience, but he is known to be close to Russia, where President Vladimir Putin awarded him the Order of Friendship, an award given to foreign nationals who work to improve relations with Russia. That closeness is likely to come up for scrutiny in the Senate, which must confirm Tillerson’s nomination, in light of allegations that Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election. Indeed, as my colleague Matt Vasilogambros noted last night, Senator Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican, even called Tillerson a “friend of Vladimir.”

I have chosen one of the truly great business leaders of the world, Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, to be Secretary of State.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2016