For the Record: Trump's inner circle may be hurricane shaped
President-elect Donald Trump should totally choose his cabinet via some version of “The Apprentice.” It could air on C-SPAN (because it’s not like Congress is going to do anything now, anyway). And they wouldn't have to hire any writers. Or rehearse anything with cue cards. Trump has already referred to candidates as finalists, just like on the show!
Alas, apparently everyone in Hollywood is too cheesed about Trump’s win to have gotten this plan together in time. So now we have to rely on the rumor mill to get intel about the new administration. Boring.
OK, SO TELL ME WHY I CARE?
Actually, Trump’s appointments are super important 1) because no president does stuff alone. They rely on a cadre of agency heads and bureaucrats to carry out their agenda. And 2) Trump spent a lot of time on the campaign trail promising to “drain the swamp” in D.C. The balance of insiders and outsiders will be super telling about how that’s going to go.
FAIR ENOUGH. SO, HOW’S IT GOING?
Depends on whom you ask. Trump fired transition chair Chris Christie and purged others, including industry lobbyists; VP Mike Pence is now doing the heavy lifting in his place. Current White House staffers say they have been unable to hand off critical information to the new administration. And there are reports that the selection process for cabinet members has become “an absolute knife fight,” as one source told Politico. Oh, and to make matters worse, Trump was only recently made aware that it’s his job to appoint more than 3,800 people. But don’t worry, Officer Barbrady. Team Trump says there’s nothing to see here and it’s all just growing pains.
WHO’S IN TRUMP’S INNER CIRCLE?
There are a lot of names out there, and most of it is conjecture. But here are some educated guesses about who’s in and out for a few key spots (the first two are done deals, and Trump’s son says more announcements are coming. When will then be now? Soon):
- CHIEF OF STAFF: Reince Priebus. Appointing the Republican Party chairman to oversee Trump’s schedule and other critical daily tasks was seen as a bone to the establishment.
- CHIEF STRATEGIST: Stephen Bannon. The former Breitbart News executive’s appointment to oversee the Trump agenda raised eyebrows from those who worried it would legitimize the alt-right they say he represents.
- SECRETARY OF STATE: Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani may be favored above former House Speaker Newt (let’s bring back the House Un-American Activities Committee) Gingrich and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, but he’s not a shoe-in. Trump also is reportedly meeting with 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney about this important foreign-policy job.
- ATTORNEY GENERAL: Jeff Sessions was Alabama’s attorney general before he was elected senator; the immigration hard-liner appears to be on the short list to become the feds' chief lawyer. But who knows who Trump will go with?
- DEFENSE: Sessions also appears on this list, along with a handful of other congressmen. If the cabinet spot is highly sought after, experts say the hundreds of positions under it may be more difficult to fill, given the slew of national-security experts who campaigned against Trump.
- HOMELAND SECURITY: Sessions (sheesh, Mr. Popular) shows up here too, as does Michael McCaul, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee (have you noticed how many congressmen are on these lists?). Less likely, though still talked about, is Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who lost re-election last week and is facing federal contempt charges stemming from a racial profiling case.
- EDUCATION: Good question. Trump has said he wants to vastly scale back this department. Assuming it continues to exist, this may be where Trump parks someone who was loyal to him but he doesn’t really like. Definitely not on the list for this or any other seat: Ben Carson. He told Trump he’d rather work outside the administration.
MORE FROM THE TRANSITION:
- Casino rich dudes Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn are helping pull off the Jan. 20 inauguration. Gold lamé for everyone! (Paste BN)
- Trump assails the media on Twitter about transition coverage, hours after he ditched reporters to go have dinner (Paste BN)
- Bernie Sanders is the first independent to hold a leadership position among Senate Democrats – he’s the chair of outreach (Paste BN)
- Despite earlier grumbling about House Speaker Paul Ryan, he gets a unanimous nomination to keep his job (ABC News)
- Meanwhile, House Democrats postpone their leadership vote by two weeks to figure out WTF to do now (Politico)
- W. Va. mayor who liked a post that called Michelle Obama an ‘ape in heels’ resigns (Paste BN)
UH, ABOUT WEDNESDAY
We’d like to say it was something more spectacular that led us to miss posting Wednesday’s For the Record, like we were fighting a zombie attack or feeding a litter of flame-throwing kittens. The truth is the incomparable Brett McGinness is out of the office, and the rest of us miscommunicated about who was doing what. Sorry.