President-Elect Donald Trump made two new picks for his cabinet today, choosing former Texas Governor Rick Perry for Secretary of Energy, and Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State.
Trump presumably doesn't remember that Gov. Perry wanted to eliminate the Department of Energy during his 2012 campaign, (but maybe he doesn't either), but his nomination will easily sail through Congress regardless.
Tillerson makes some sense as a Secretary of State, having spent years lobbying foreign governments on behalf of his company, but he may face some opposition from members of both parties over ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin. All it would take is three Republican defectors to keep him from taking the seat, and Senators McCain (R-AZ), Rubio (R-FL), and Graham (R-SC) have voiced concerns about the pick. Mr. Trump is already the least popular President-Elect since records started being kept in 1981, he can't afford to burn political capital on a protracted nomination battle, especially if he's still dismissing the CIA's investigation into Russian meddling in the election when he takes office.
There's a good chance that Trump will stick with Tillerson, but there's also a good chance that this is a trial balloon meant to make his actual pick seem more like a comprimise, and if he does stick with him he's risking alienating the Russia hawks on the Senate Foreign Relations Committe.
- Greg.B
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