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Trump arrived at the decision on Monday night, sources within his transition team said, noting that the incoming Republican president would officially announce his pick on Tuesday morning.

The reports gain more credibility after a Facebook post by close Trump confidante and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

“Rex Tillerson will be an extremely effective Secretary of State. He knows the world, he knows how to make deals internationally, and although it's hard for the Washington elites to comprehend that Donald J. Trump could nominate someone who is not a bureaucrat, Tillerson has exactly the right kind of determination and toughness we need to fix the State Department,” he wrote.

Tillerson went to Trump Tower in New York City on Saturday to meet with the real estate magnate, a meeting that drew fire from the both sides of the aisle.

Republican Senator John McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the nature of Tillerson’s ties with Moscow was a “matter of concern.”

“I don’t know what Mr. Tillerson’s relationship with Vladimir Putin was, but I’ll tell you it is a matter of concern to me,” he told Fox News on Saturday.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and environmental group Green Peace also reacted negatively to the news.

“Trump's outrageous pick of Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State demonstrates once again that he lied to the country about draining the swamp," DNC spokesman Adam Hodge said in a statement.

He said the choice amounted to another victory for Putin after the election of the New York businessman, who favors cooperation with Moscow, Press TV reported.

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