Oil major chief Rex Tillerson Trump’s choice for next US Secretary of State: Reports

Exxon Mobil Corp Chief Executive Rex Tillerson is reportedly US President-elect Donald Trump’s top pick for the post of secretary of state. 

Rex Tillerson emerged Trump’s leading candidate for the post over 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and three other people because he is a global business deal-maker and has close ties with Russia, reports said. 

However, media reports said, Trump has not made a final decision. His spokesman Jason Miller has reportedly said that no announcement on the high-profile job was forthcoming in the immediate future.

“Transition Update: No announcements on Secretary of State until next week at the earliest. #MakeAmericaGreatAgain,” Miller tweeted.

The rumours of Tillerson’s posting were strengthened after the president-elect heaped praise on him in an interview released Saturday.

Trump's pick for Secretary of State, Exxon's Rex Tillerson, enjoying champagne toast w/ Putin + his associates after signing lucrative deal. pic.twitter.com/vS6NCMxd7T

— Yashar (@yashar) December 10, 2016

“He’s more than a business executive; he’s a world-class player,’’ Trump told Fox News in the interview, to be broadcast Sunday. “He’s in charge of I guess the largest company in the world.”

Trump called it “a great advantage” that Tillerson already knows “many of the players,” noting that he does “massive deals in Russia.”

The nomination would also put Trump’s intentions toward Russia in the spotlight just as controversy is intensifying over reports that the Central Intelligence Agency has concluded that a Russian-led hacking effort of US email accounts was intended to boost Trump’s election chances.

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According to reports Rex Tillerson, 64 years old, met privately with Trump on Saturday, four days after their first meeting.