Trump's Secretary of State Pick Is Not without Controversy

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be the country's next secretary of state.

"Rex Tillerson's career is the embodiment of the American dream. Through hard work, dedication and smart deal making, Rex rose through the ranks to become CEO of ExxonMobil, one of the world's largest and most respected companies," Trump announced in a predawn news release from Trump Tower.
 
"Rex knows how to manage a global enterprise, which is crucial to running a successful State Department," he said.

Tillerson's nomination is already raising concerns on Capitol Hill  because of his ties to Russia and Vladimir Putin. In addition, skeptics note that he is a novice in the world of diplomacy.

"Usually you look at the secretary of state as someone who has some level of diplomatic experience," said Southern Methodist University political science professor Mathew Wilson.

While Tillerson lacks diplomatic and political experience, as CEO of the ExxonMobil oil company, he's developed many friendly relationships with world leaders.
 
He's received the Russian Order of Friendship award and has close ties to Putin. That's raised concerns on Capitol Hill, with some fearing he is a bit too close to the Russians.

The Tillerson nomination comes at a time when both Democrats and Republicans are calling for an investigation of alleged Russian meddling in the recent U.S. presidential election.

"The Russians are not our friends," insisted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "I hope that those who are going to be in positions of responsibility in the new administration share my views."  
 
On "The Daily Show," President Barack Obama said Russian attempts to influence American elections date back to the Soviet Union days. He says an investigation and report may prevent such actions in the future.

"What they did here--hacking some emails and releasing them -- is not a particular fancy brand of espionage or propaganda," the president said.
 
But Julian Assange, the head of WikiLeaks, says Russia was not the source of the hacked DNC and Podesta emails released by his news organization during the presidential campaign.

And some in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the agency that oversees all U.S. intelligence, reportedly disagree with the CIA assessment. According to Reuters, the notion that Russia acted to boost Trump over Hillary Clinton "lacks conclusive evidence."

Meanwhile, just days before Electoral College electors meet next Monday to cast their votes making the presidential election final, at least 10 of them say they want a national intelligence briefing to determine if Trump is "fit to serve."

Critics say it's just another attempt by Democrats and some members of the Clinton campaign to de-legitimize Trump's victory.

And vote recount efforts are now over. Judges stopped the efforts in Michigan and Pennsylvania and Trump gained another 131 votes after the recount in Wisconsin.

Meanwhile, Trump is making final choices for his White House team.   He's chosen Goldman Sacks President Gary Cohn as his chief economic adviser. Cohn will be the third Wall Street executive to join the Trump administration.

 With little more than a month left until Inauguration Day, Trump has only a few more cabinet picks remaining.

Some of his selections are controversial and he's likely to face ongoing attacks about them and the course he plans to set for his administration and the country in the days ahead.