Trump denies transition disarray after sackings

Faced with the daunting challenge of staffing a new administration including his close coterie of a cabinet, the president-elect remained ensconced in Trump Tower in Manhattan, taking calls from foreign leaders and meeting potential appointees, lawmakers and advisors.

“Trump has not held a news conference since the election and has not designated a surrogate to brief reporters on his transition”.

Miller told reporters at Trump Tower in New York City that President Barack Obama did not have “his entire Cabinet formed within the first week” after his election in 2008.

President-elect Donald Trump and his team on Wednesday vigorously rejected charges of turmoil and infighting roiling efforts to set up his White House, national security and economic teams.

On Wednesday, Trump indulged in one of his trademark Twitter takedowns of the The New York Times, blasting it for reporting that USA allies and world leaders had gone stir-crazy trying to get in touch with him, while cold-calling Trump Towers in New York.

Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani has emerged as a favorite for secretary of state, brushing off being attorney general.

A Trump attorney said last week that the real estate mogul plans to place his business holdings into a “blind trust” run by several of his adult children-an arrangement that raised many eyebrows.

Still, his reported instigation of removing experienced hands like Rogers was described to CNN by sources as a “knife fight” that was “mainly divided along the lines of establishment Republican operatives against more nontraditional influences on national security issues”. The individual, who was not authorized to discuss the briefings, spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Flynn traveled a year ago to Moscow, where he joined Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials in a celebration of RT, a Russian television channel.

What is clear is that some aides who were a key part of the effort are out.

Prominent American allies were in the meantime scrambling to figure out how and when to contact Trump.

President-elect Trump also meets with Japan’s prime minister Thursday, his first meeting with a world leader since the election last week.

Christie, once viewed as a possible VP pick, had also faced concerns during the summer’s vice presidential search from Trump’s children, who anxious about his involvement in the Bridgegate scandal and believed that the GOP ticket needed geographic balance.

“The neocons who show up out of nowhere, who after leaving their never-Trump headquarters, say ‘I’ve been with you the whole time, ‘ and I want to be assistant secretary of State or assistant secretary of the Treasury or whatever”, Stone said.

In Washington, Vice President-elect Mike Pence huddled with Republican leaders in Congress.

Pence met with Pelosi and other House leaders Thursday.

Trump, who has been immersed in transition planning at his office skyscraper in NY in recent days, added, “This was a typically false news story”.

Pence’s move comes after Sen.

Trump has mostly stuck to normal practice for a US president-elect with the order in which he has spoken to foreign leaders since his surprise election victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump repeatedly referred to him as “Lyin’ Ted”.

Mr Trump’s advisers, meanwhile, said the transition team was not suffering unusual setbacks.

Trump is known for wanting to make America great, for Americans.

Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, also visited the skyscraper and called Trump “a true friend of Israel”.

Incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus is defending soon-to-be Senior Counselor to the President Steve Bannon – whose support for alt-right politics has drawn criticism from the left.

Bannon is the onetime head of the Breitbart website, seen by critics as a haven for white supremacists.

Mr Trump is due to be inaugurated as president on 20 January 2017.

The Trump transition team will begin notifying the Obama administration of its designees to meet with current agency officials starting today. The switch to Pence, however, slowed Trump’s ability to coordinate with the White House.

President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway says she expects that initial announcements of Cabinet choices could come “either before or after Thanksgiving” and says “it’s Donald Trump and Donald Trump alone who makes the ultimate decisions”. “He’s a transactional guy”. Moskowitz, a Democrat and advocate for charter schools, met with Trump this week, stoking speculation that she might inject a bit of bipartisanship in the new administration.

Pace reported from Washington.