RACHEL MADDOW (HOST): Today, the transition made it official that the president-elect has chosen Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson as his nominee to be the next secretary of state of America. There was this hilarious period today when there was all this breathless reporting that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Defense Secretary Bob Gates were both vocally on board with this controversial nomination. Wow, maybe it's not that controversial after all? Maybe it's not that weird that the CEO of Exxon would get a job like this? After all, Condi Rice and Bob Gates say they are on board. There was this hilarious period today between the start of that reporting and the moment when everybody finally googled it and noticed, “oh yeah, Condoleezza Rice and Bob Gates are both consultants for Exxon now.” They're both on the Exxon payroll. 

In fact, Politico reported not long ago that the whole reason the Exxon CEO even got a first look from the Trump transition, even got his first introduction to President-elect Donald Trump, is because Condoleezza Rice and Bob Gates made that introduction. They work for Exxon. Do you think Exxon's getting its money's worth for their consulting contract with Condi Rice and Bob Gates? They just got them a secretary of state. So that's our new nominee for secretary of state.

Previously:

Supporters Of Rex Tillerson, Trump's Pick For State, Have Exxon Ties Of Their Own

MSNBC's Mike Barnicle: ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson “Is A Huge Green Guy”