The second issue is that Tillerson has no experience in government or public diplomacy. Had Trump chosen a national security advisor or deputy national security advisor with any real experience in formulating foreign policy, Tillerson’s nomination would be far less risky. Instead, he will join a national security team that is unprecedentedly inexperienced, all of whom will be working for a president who himself has no military or government experience. If, instead of Michael Flynn and KT McFarland, someone like Stephen Hadley or Robert Zoellick were in the West Wing, Tillerson’s nomination would be far less troubling (and possibly even refreshing).

Tillerson would reassure no one outside the United States (except perhaps Russia) that the Trump administration is up to the task of perpetuating American global leadership.

For all his flaws, Mitt Romney is a well-known figure, and leaders across the globe recognize in him the qualities you would associate with an elder statesman — calm, measured, reliable. The same goes for former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, who speaks Chinese and served as ambassador to China in the first two years of the Obama administration.

Reports also speculate that Trump is likely to nominate John Bolton as deputy secretary of state, but it would be far better for Bolton to serve as secretary of state outright.