Trump transition battle underway

[Geee]

:

The stunning upset election of Donald Trump on Tuesday has set off a behind-the-scenes political battle inside the Trump transition team in Washington.

 

The battle is pitting conservative advisers against moderate Republicans. Both sides are working to take control of the incoming administration by arranging key appointments.

 

According to sources close to the transition team working in offices at 1717 Pennsylvania Ave., key aides to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are seeking to have Mr. Trump arrange the appointments of moderate Republicans, possibly including some of the more than 100 who signed a letter during the campaign vowing never to work for the New York businessman if he was elected president. Some of the former officials who opposed Mr. Trump are now recanting that involvement in the letter in hopes of getting a job in the new administration.

 

Mr. Trump has vowed that the Republican establishmentarians who opposed him will not get jobs in his administration.

 

The word from two sources outside the transition team but familiar with discussions is that Mr. Christie may be replaced as the leader of the transition by someone more in line with Mr. Trump’s announced populist policies. The governor is under fire after convictions of two former aides in the traffic scandal dubbed Bridgegate.

 

 

The key player in the conservative camp is Sen. Jeff Sessions, Alabama Republican and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who is in line to become secretary of defense. Others mentioned for the defense secretary position are former CIA Director R. James Woolsey and moderate Stephen Hadley, who was a national security adviser in the George W. Bush administration. Tidal McCoy, former Air Force secretary in the Reagan administration, is another defense secretary candidate.

[Geee]

Preliminary list shows potential Trump Cabinet picks

 

Donald Trump's transition team has prepared a preliminary list of potential Cabinet members for his upcoming administration.

 

The list obtained by BuzzFeed News reveals a number of familiar faces including Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich and others being weighed for multiple positions.

 

In total, the list includes 41 names and covers 14 different departments. A source told BuzzFeed that the list is not final, and will likely be changed in the future

 

Attorney general picks include Chris Christie, Jeff Sessions and Rudy Giuliani.

 

Newt Gingrich, John Bolton and Bob Corker are listed as potential picks for the secretary of State.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus is the only name listed under chief of staff, while Sessions is also the only one being considered for director of Office of Management and Budget.

Potential secretary of Commerce picks include Christie and Huckabee, while Carson is under consideration to be secretary of Education.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/305354-buzzfeed-obtains-preliminary-list-of-trump-cabinet-picks

[Geee]

Report: Trump eyeing GOP lawmakers for Cabinet posts

 

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) are all in the running for Cabinet positions in Donald Trump’s incoming administration, Bloomberg Politics reported Wednesday.

 

Citing people familiar with Trump’s thinking, Bloomberg reported that McCaul, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, is the top choice to be Homeland Security Secretary.

Corker, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and John Bolton, a former ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush, are both reportedly in the running for secretary of State.

 

And Sessions is said to have his eye on secretary of Defense. Trump has reportedly told the Alabama senator that he can have his pick of cabinet positions.

 

The report also said that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is in the lead to take the attorney general.

 

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/305348-report-trump-eyeing-gop-lawmakers-for-cabinet-posts

[Geee]

Gingrich wants to be 'chief planner' in Trump administration

 

 

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on Wednesday said he would like to serve as “chief planner” in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.

 

Gingrich has been a top surrogate for Trump during his presidential campaign and is rumored to be in line for a top role in his administration. He was on the short list for Trump’s vice presidential picks, but the real estate mogul ultimately chose Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate.

 

“I want to be able to work strategically,” Gingrich said in an interview with Fox radio host John Gibson, according to BuzzFeed, adding that he wants to “get an American government into the 21st century” and “make it responsive to the American people.”

Trump's victory shocked Washington and the world early Wednesday morning. Polls suggested that Democrat Hillary Clinton enjoyed a small but persistent lead across a number of battleground states.

 

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/305304-gingrich-wants-to-be-chief-planner-in-trump

[Geee]

GOP national security elites agonize: Should I work for Trump?

 

They have called him "fundamentally dishonest," branded his rhetoric a danger to the world, and some felt so repulsed by him that they voted for Hillary Clinton.

 

But now that Donald Trump has won the presidency, Republican national security elites who fueled the Never Trump movement are struggling with the question: "If he asks me, would I work for him?" And, maybe more to the point: "Would I be hurting the country if I say no?"

 

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/donald-trump-national-security-231126

[Valin]

Related

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90ESAkYRTQ4

[Geee]

Trump Tower Locked Down as Top Campaign Aides Plan Administration

 

NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump is meeting with his top aides to plan for his upcoming administration.

The NYPD and Secret Service have turned Trump Tower into a fortress for the president elect, as it appears to be the focal point of presidential activity for the next few days.

 

Formal concrete blockades and steel barricades have replaced the cement and sanitation trucks that were used by the NYPD for a temporary barricade. Trump fans and haters alike have gathered across the street to watch the building.

 

“Busy day planned in New York,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Will soon be making some very important decisions on the people who will be running our government!”

 

At Trump Tower, Trump campaign CEO Stephen K. Bannon was spotted entering the building as well as Deputy campaign manager David Bossie. Trump’s spokeswoman Hope Hicks also went in, as did Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.

 

Rudy Giuliani went in. He’s a long-time surrogate who’s expected to have a large role in the Trump administration.

 

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/11/11/transition-donald-trump-mapping-out-administration-with-top-aides/

[Geee]

Peter Thiel Wants to Serve Trump Administration as Technology Adviser

 

Tech entrepreneur and co-founder of PayPal Peter Thiel suggested that he will work for the Trump administration as an informal adviser on subjects such as technology and innovation.

 

“A page in the book of history has turned, and there is an opening to think about some of our problems from a new perspective,” Thiel said. “I’ll try to help the president in any way I can.”

 

Thiel, who publicly endorsed Donald Trump unlike the majority of other Silicon Valley leaders, donated $1.25 millon to the Trump campaign and also spoke at this year’s Republican National Convention.

 

He also gave a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., a week before the election where he warned people the movement behind the then Republican nominee was “not going away.”

 

Other Silicon Valley companies such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter all strongly opposed Trump’s candidacy, and Thiel was even pressured from figures in the industry to step down from his role as a board member at Facebook.

 

http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2016/11/11/peter-thiel-wants-to-serve-trump-administration-as-technology-adviser/

[Geee]

Pence takes lead as Trump reshapes transition team

 

President-Elect Donald Trump is reshaping his transition team, elevating Vice President-elect Mike Pence to lead the efforts while adding a host of loyalists to the operation.

 

The new roster makes clear that the Trump transition will look a lot like the Trump campaign. Many top surrogates will serve as transition co-chairs, including Ben Carson, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Newt Gingrich, Ret. Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.). Most of those names have already been floated as potential top officials in the new Trump administration.

 

And other top supporters, including Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, GOP megadonor Rebekah Mercer and Trump campaign CEO Steve Bannon, will join the efforts officially.

 

A source familiar with the internal deliberations confirmed to The Hill that Bannon is being seriously considered as chief-of-staff. Reports also point to Priebus as another top frontrunner for the post as Trump's right-hand man.

 

“Together this outstanding group of advisors, led by Vice President-elect Mike Pence, will build on the initial work done under the leadership of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to help prepare a transformative government ready to lead from day one,” Trump said in a statement put out by the transition.

 

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/305596-pence-takes-over-trump-transition-team-report

[Draggingtree]

Pence Role as Transition Leader Hints at Insider Mix

By Rebecca Berg
November 12, 2016

 

Donald Trump campaigned as an outsider who would shake up Washington, D.C. But to lead and shape his administration, the president-elect is not shunning insiders deeply entrenched in the capital culture.

 

Trump’s transition team will now be led by Vice President-elect Mike Pence, the president-elect’s office announced Friday, replacing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Prior to serving as Indiana governor, Pence was a member of House Republican leadership on Capitol Hill, and he maintains close relationships with many GOP lawmakers in Washington.

 

Joining Pence in the effort as vice-chairs will be a roster of familiar names from the campaign, including Sen. Jeff Sessions, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Dr. Ben Carson. The transition effort will also include an executive committee comprising Trump’s adult children, half a dozen members of Congress, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, and Trump’s campaign chairman, Steve Bannon.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2016/11/12/pence_role_as_transition_leader_hints_at_insider_mix_132332.html

0

Shares

[Geee]

Trump to name Priebus chief of staff, Bannon senior counselor

 

Priebus was one of Trump’s most loyal lieutenants during the real estate mogul's up-and-down campaign that resulted in many Republicans, particularly lawmakers seeking reelection, to distance themselves from Trump.

 

Trump praised Preibus’ efforts in his victory speech after his upset win over Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

 

Priebus was thought to be one of two finalists for the chief of staff post, along with Trump campaign Chief Executive Officer Steve Bannon, the executive chairman of Breitbart News.

 

Bannon is expected to be named senior counselor to the president, the sources told Fox News.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/13/trump-to-name-priebus-chief-staff-bannon-senior-counselor.html

[Valin]

@Geee

 

IMO Preibus has done a bang up job at the RNC, so good for him. Carly Fiorina to replace him?

[Geee]

@Geee

 

IMO Preibus has done a bang up job at the RNC, so good for him. Carly Fiorina to replace him?

 

Since he spent a lot of time here, Wisconsin hates to lose him - I hope he fits the job. He took the RNC from a horrible deficit that Steele left for him and put it in the black plus made an efficient machine out of it. I hope the job of Chief of Staff fits his talents.

[Valin]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re0K88DBZ1g

[Geee]

Sources: Laura Ingraham Could Be Trump White House Press Secretary

 

The rumor mill is spinning with sources telling The Hill that Fox News contributor and conservative commentator Laura Ingraham could be the Trump White House’s press secretary. The publication added that the president-elect had appreciated Ingraham using her media presence and her website, Lifezette, to promote his candidacy. Ingraham also helped the then-Republican nominee with his debate preparation. She’s reportedly interested in the role:

 

Ingraham would not comment for this article. A source familiar told The Hill that she's in contact with people in Trump's inner circle and has expressed interest in the role.

 

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2016/11/14/sources-laura-ingraham-could-be-trump-white-house-press-secretary-n2245294

[Geee]

Trump looking at three names to lead Energy Department

 

President-elect Trump is considering three people to head the Department of Energy, including a Republican member of Congress, an oil man and a venture capitalist, according to a Trump transition document.

 

Oil billionaire Harold Hamm and North Dakota Rep. Kevin Cramer, who have been advising Trump on energy policy throughout his campaign, are on a shortlist to lead the Department of Energy, according to the document obtained by the Associated Press.

 

Venture capitalist Robert Grady is a third possibility to serve as energy chief. Grady worked under President George H.W. Bush's administration, and the document also lists Grady as a possible choice to head the Interior Department.

 

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-looking-at-three-names-to-lead-energy-department/article/2607305

[Geee]

Gingrich makes case to be Trump's strategic planner

 

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said Monday he wants to be a long-term strategic planner for President-elect Donald Trump in order to transform the country.

 

Speaking on Fox News Monday, Gingrich said his thoughts are already on how to hand off a successful Trump administration to a Republican successor in January 2025. He wants to work in the administration in such a way that would help him focus the administration on that lofty goal.

 

"It's not a very normal position but this is not going to be a very normal presidency," he said.

 

Gingrich was a possible candidate to be Trump's running mate, but was passed over for Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. He said when Trump told him he wasn't going to be vice president, he started lobbying for a job as a long-term strategist.

 

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/gingrich-makes-case-to-be-trumps-strategic-planner/article/2607303

[Geee]

Trump adviser says military needs counterrevolution, reverse social engineering policies

 

A key congressional supporter of Donald Trump says the president-elect’s defense secretary should move quickly to reverse a number of social engineering policies adopted in the Obama years that “have cut down on the warrior mentality.”

 

Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican, told The Washington Times that the armed forces need a counterrevolution. It should reverse at least three policies: women in the infantry, open transgender troops and the near-banishment of the word “man” from Navy and Marine Corps titles.

 

Mr. Hunter, a high-profile member of House Armed Services Committee, was one of the first in Congress to back Mr. Trump. He co-chaired the New York real estate magnate’s congressional leadership committee and promoted Mr. Trump in op-eds and media interviews.

 

The Trump transition team is considering Mr. Hunter for Navy secretary or even secretary of defense, a huge steppingstone for a 39-year-old former Marine Corps major.

 

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/13/military-needs-counterrevolution-reverse-social-en/

[Geee]

John Bolton for Secretary of State

 

And just like that Donald Trump needs to govern. The outsider who shocked the world with his upsets in the primaries and the general election will have to arrive in Washington and take control of a vast and often hostile bureaucracy. With allies nervous and a challenge from adversaries abroad likely to materialize quickly, the choice of secretary of state is his most important appointment.

 

Naturally, names have already been mentioned in the press as possibilities, and none is better suited to the job than former U.N. ambassador John Bolton.

 

First, the other possibilities: Newt Gingrich is a brilliant thinker and glib talker who would always be one slip of the tongue away from creating an international crisis; Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee was last seen facilitating President Obama’s Iran-deal path through Congress, in one of the prime exhibits of GOP fecklessness in recent years; Rudy Giuliani has done yeoman’s work for Trump, but doesn’t have extensive foreign policy experience, to put it mildly.

 

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/442150/john-bolton-secretary-state

[Geee]

Trump said to narrow choices for Treasury to Mnuchin, Ross

 

Trump said to narrow choices for Treasury to Mnuchin, Ross

By BEN WHITE 11/14/16 02:27 PM EST

NEW YORK — Donald Trump has narrowed his focus for Treasury secretary to a pair of candidates, former Goldman Sachs banker Steve Mnuchin and billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, people familiar with the matter said.

 

Mnuchin, who served as a senior adviser and finance chair for the Trump campaign, is the leading candidate, these people said. The people added that they did not believe Trump had finalized a decision on Treasury and that names in play could still change.

 

People working on the Trump transition team have also reached out to other potential Treasury secretaries including current JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor currently at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, people familiar with the matter said. House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) has also been mentioned for Treasury. But Hensarling has said he’s focused on rewriting financial regulations under a Trump presidency.

 

http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2016/11/trump-said-to-narrow-choices-for-treasury-to-mnuchin-ross-231349

[Valin]

FDD Verified account ‏@followFDD

No more excuses for #Iran - @mdubowitz discusses a “new reality” for the Iran Deal with @bklapperAP: http://apne.ws/2fREFsN

 

 

9:11 AM - 14 Nov 2016

[Geee]

Mike Rogers leaves Trump transition team

 

Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) has left Donald Trump’s presidential transition team, saying in a statement that he is handing off the work to advisers from the Trump campaign.

 

"Our work will provide a strong foundation for the new transition team leadership as they move into the post-election phase, which naturally is incorporating the campaign team in New York who drove President-elect Trump to an incredible victory last Tuesday," Rogers said.

The former FBI agent and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee was advising the incoming administration on national security matters.

 

Bloomberg first reported the move Tuesday morning.

 

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/306026-report-former-gop-rep-leaves-trump-transition-team

[Geee]

Carson not interested in serving in Trump administration

 

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has told President-elect Donald Trump that he isn't interested in serving as secretary of Health and Human Services, a Carson ally confirmed to The Hill on Tuesday.

 

Business manager and close friend Armstrong Williams said Carson won't join the incoming Trump administration and would only serve as an unofficial adviser.

Circa on Tuesday reported that Carson had been offered the position, citing Williams. But Williams told The Hill that no specific offer had been made.

"Dr. Carson was never offered a specific position, but everything was open to him," Williams told The Hill in a phone call.

"Dr. Carson feels he has no government experience, he's never run a federal agency. The last thing he would want to do was take a position that could cripple the presidency."

 

http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/306045-carson-turned-down-offer-to-serve-in-trump-administration-report

[Geee]

Hell Freezes Over: Sen. Ted Cruz Eyed As Possible Attorney General

 

Michelle Rhee, former chancellor for D.C.’s public schools, is eyed for Education Secretary. Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), who just recently lost her re-election bid, Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Jeff Sessions (R-AL) are being considered for Defense Secretary. Conservative commentator Laura Ingraham may be White House Press Secretary. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani might become the next Secretary of State. And Dr. Ben Carson turned down heading Health and Human Services. But hell has frozen over with the rumor mill spinning on Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who President-elect Trump could pick for U.S. Attorney General.

 

It just shows how politics can make strange bedfellows, given Cruz’s acrimonious rivalry with Trump during the Republican primaries. The Texas senator was booed off the stage during the Republican National Convention, where he refused to endorse Trump and urged GOP voters to vote their conscience. Cruz eventually endorsed Trump in September (via The Hill):

 

President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is considering making Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) the next attorney general, according to a new report.

Cruz discussed a possible role in Trump’s upcoming administration at a meeting in Trump Tower in New York City Tuesday, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg Politics.

CNN's Jim Acosta reported that a source told him Cruz was on a "long short list" of potential attorney general picks.

 

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2016/11/16/hell-freezes-over-sen-ted-cruz-eyed-as-possible-attorney-general-n2246575

[Geee]

Pence Drops Lobbyists From Trump Transition Team

 

Vice President-elect Mike Pence is shaking things up on the Trump transition team.

 

After signing a memorandum of understanding Tuesday evening officially putting him in charge of the transition, one of his first moves was to purge the team of lobbyists.

 

Before being demoted last week, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was in charge of the transition efforts. But Christie had stacked the roster with lobbyists, academics, former bureaucrats, and corporate lawyers—a move that didn’t jibe with Trump, who repeatedly promised on the campaign trail to “drain the swamp” in Washington.

 

Among those who departed Trump's transition team Tuesday was former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Christie recruit and a respected Republican voice on national security issues. The Wall Street Journal reported that Frank Gaffney, a former defense official in the Reagan administration, had been brought in to assist on national security issues, along with Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and former Rep. Pete Hoekstra.

 

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2016/11/16/pence-drops-lobbyists-from-trump-transition-team-n2246638