Trump to name secretary of state pick Tuesday
By Patrick Reis
12/12/16 09:19 PM EST
Donald Trump will announce his nominee for secretary of state Tuesday morning, the president-elect tweeted Monday night.
ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson is widely viewed as Trump’s most likely choice, but other contenders have emerged, including Mitt Romney and Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee.
Speculation surrounding Trump’s choice to lead the State Department has escalated for weeks as the president-elect took a series of meeting with potential candidates and as his allies and critics sparred over potential selections.
After emerging as a top choice over the weekend, Tillerson has faced pushback from hawkish GOP senators concerned over his ties with Russia and closeness Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump’s tweeting of the announcement comes immediately after news broke that he would be delaying a promised announcement on how he planned to avoid conflicts of interest between his businesses and his new role as president.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2016/12/trump-to-name-secretary-of-state-pick-tuesday-232544