President-elect Donald Trump continues to build his team and, quite frankly, there are reasons to be encouraged. Notwithstanding some vacuous jeremiads (mostly from the left), Trump has made a range of solid personnel decisions. Let’s look at a few of them.

General James Mattis for Secretary of Defense is a superb choice, for example. Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson isn’t the most conventional selection for Secretary of State. However, he’s a supremely accomplished individual who has a solid grasp of global affairs.

Forbes has a good piece on Tillerson that challenges a lot of the simplistic, misguided and arrogant thinking against his nomination.

Suzanne Maloney of the Brookings Institution (who previously worked at Exxon and the State Department) has penned an excellent Wall Street Journal op-ed on this topic as well. Regardless of where one comes down, Tillerson will come under intense scrutiny -- from Democrats and some Republicans -- during his confirmation hearing, particularly over his ties to Russia.

Scott Pruitt, Trump’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency, constitutes another reassuring move.

The bottom line is that Trump is assembling a strong cabinet that’s poised to stand in stark contradistinction to Obama’s tenure.

It’s still hard to predict precisely what the Trump years will mean in terms of policy.

However, based on the personnel choices that have already been made, the incoming administration looks set to be a wholehearted repudiation of eight regrettable years under Obama. That would be a most welcome development, indeed.

Taylor Dibbert is a writer based in Washington, D.C.