In Trump’s transition, the jockeying for jobs goes public

The Wall Street Journal reported that Pence yesterday ordered removal of all lobbyists from the transition team. Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said they were still “working on” the meeting. Paul, who also ran for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, said he was concerned by Giuliani’s work on behalf of foreign governments. “Everything up there is very smooth”. “I’ve got a great position in public policy today”.

On Monday, the White House Correspondents’ Association said it is “deeply concerned by President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to reject the practice of traveling with a protective pool of reporters for his first visit to Washington”. Since Senate confirmation can be obtained for cabinet posts by a simple majority, which the Republicans have, the Democrats could not block such appointments.

However, they can not agree on what they think of Trump’s newest adviser, Breitbart News executive chairman Steve Bannon.

This story has been corrected to reflect that Bannon was appointed, not nominated.

The report’s conclusions were at odds with the campaign position of Mr. Trump, who repeatedly blamed Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent and the secretary of state during the attacks, for the resulting deaths of four Americans. On Friday Christie was bumped as team chairman. Christie was New Jersey attorney general when Kushner’s father was tried and jailed in the state for tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions and witness tampering in 2004.

The source said some Washington Republicans who joined the transition pre-election were making sort of “back-door bets” to “hedge” their future, meaning they could work on the plans for the Trump administration without tying their career to his campaign. Top of the list are the departments of state, justice and defence.

“There’s been no outreach to date”, department spokesman John Kirby said.

President Obama has frequently been criticized for not living up to his early promises of a transparent administration – his was even called “one of the most secretive” in a Washington Post article that laid out how his administration withheld information about drone strikes and was severely punitive with whistleblowers. “We know he won’t settle for things being done slowly”.

“If our book is 800 pages, I can’t even imagine what DoD’s is like”, Lu said, speaking from the perspective of preparing for the eventual arrival of the Department of Labor team. “America is worth it”, she told the Children’s Defense Fund event.

“Right now we’re still in the planning stages”.

Others visiting Trump on Thursday include the head of the National Security Agency, Admiral Mike Rogers, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Florida Governor Rick Scott, retired Gen. Jack Keane and Congressman Jeb Hensaring, a possible choice for Treasury Secretary.

Meanwhile, Eva Moskowitz, who met with Trump on Wednesday and is the CEO of New York City’s largest charter school network, said she would not serve as Trump’s education secretary.

In case there was any doubt, the last 24 hours have sealed it: Donald Trump’s family will play a big role in his presidency, if they have anything to say about it.

The past relationship between the two men has been less than diplomatic.

“I understand I’m in the mix”, Corker told CNN. Transition officials said Trump met Wednesday with Eva Moskowitz, a former NY councilwoman and charter school founder who is being considered for education secretary.

But amid the activity in NY, a sweeping ban on lobbyists threatens to hobble the president-elect’s ability to quickly fill thousands of jobs throughout the federal government in Washington D.C. Trump’s lobbying restrictions – announced during an impromptu call Wednesday night – sent a shock wave through Washington’s vast network of professional influencers.

“Last night probably was an example of where we could have been [in] a little bit better communication, but again, our goal going forward is to give you guys the best information in a timely fashion”. Mr Priebus, a plain-vanilla conservative, whose embrace of Mr Trump arguably did more to get him elected, reflects the pragmatism of the successful businessman Mr Obama claimed to have encountered in his meeting with Mr Trump.