President-elect Donald Trump had to know that nominating Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state would create a firestorm of opposition because of the nominee’s close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.Because of allegations that Russia hacked into presidential campaign cyber messages to try to swing the 2016 election in Trump’s favor, Putin is trusted even less than before. The emphasis must be placed on “tried” to influence the election, because it has not been proven that the hacking, if done, had any influence on the outcome of the election.The opposition to the Tillerson confirmation by the Senate is coming from both Republicans and Democrats.Trump is lining his proposed cabinet table with high profile businessmen, most of whom have had no experience in government. They have run big business operations. He has picked fast food executive Andy Puzder to head the Labor Department; billionaire investor Wilbur Ross for Commerce; financier Steven Mnuchin as Treasury secretary; Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn as his top economic adviser; and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry as energy secretary.Why would Trump nominate Tillerson if he knew it would be tough to gain confirmation? The indication is that Trump wants good relations with Russia. Granted, that’s a noteworthy objective, but at what cost to this country? It is known that Tillerson is against sanctions on Russia.Trump said this: “Rex knows how to manage a global enterprise, which is crucial to running a successful State Department, and his relationship with leaders all over the world are second to none.”One thing can be said about the nominees. Their confirmation hearings are going to dominate the news in early 2017.