REX – AT 11:16 A.M. ET:  The expectation is that President-elect Trump will name Exxon-Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his choice for secretary of state later in the week.  The Trump team apparently wants a few more days before the announcement should signs grow, and they are growing, that Tillerson may face a tough battle for confirmation.  From The Wall Street Journal:   

WASHINGTON— Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Rex Tillerson, the top choice for secretary of state in a Trump administration, faces bipartisan resistance in Congress over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

GOP hesitation over Mr. Tillerson marked the first sign of division between congressional Republicans and the Trump team over its likely cabinet picks. All of President-elect Donald Trump’s other nominees so far appear likely to be confirmed by the Senate.

Mr. Tillerson, a seasoned deal-maker whose company has a long history of doing business in Russia, is drawing unease from senators on both sides of the aisle. Republicans can likely afford to lose only two GOP votes next year in the new Congress when it meets to consider Mr. Trump’s nominees.

And...

Mr. Trump defended Mr. Tillerson as a “world-class player” and said it was “a great advantage” that Mr. Tillerson already knows “many of the players,” noting that he does “massive deals in Russia.”

“He’s more than a business executive,’’ Mr. Trump told Fox News in an interview broadcast Sunday.

Trump transition officials said the president-elect is likely to announce his choice for secretary of state midweek. Mr. Trump has given himself time to alter course should his views change or if he concludes Mr. Tillerson couldn’t win Senate confirmation.

And...

No Senate Republicans have yet said they would vote against Mr. Tillerson. Mr. Corker said in a tweet Saturday that the CEO is “a very impressive individual.”

Still, a number of senators expressed reservations. On Tuesday, another member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), said he had “serious concerns” about Mr. Trump’s selection of Mr. Tillerson to be secretary of state.

Mr. Rubio said the Exxon Mobil CEO “is a respected businessman,” but the senator noted he had broader questions about whether Mr. Tillerson was the right person for the job. Two days earlier, Mr. Rubio said in a tweet that “being a ‘friend of Vladimir’ is not an attribute I am hoping for” in the next secretary of state.

COMMENT:  The position of secretary of state is the most prestigious in the Cabinet.  The secretary of state nomination is taken very seriously.  The position is fourth in the line of presidential succession, after the vice president, speaker of the House, and president pro tempore of the Senate.

I would not be shocked if a Tillerson nomination had to be withdrawn.

December 13, 2016