Transition Team/Cabinet Thread

[KingSweden]

WEEI radio in Boston and the NY Post are reporting that PEOTUS is considering former MLB manager Bobby Valentine as Ambassador to Japan.

This is actually not a terrible pick, much like Branstad. Valentine managed in Japan and speaks the language. Plus he apparently knows Abe

[KingSweden]

Trump picks Washington State Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers as Interior Sec.

Like I said unthread, a decent pick. Could have done much worse

[KingSweden]

I hope Heitkamp doesn't take the job.  We can't afford to lose a Senate seat.

By the way, how competitive is McMorris-Rogers' district?

Deceptively competitive. GOP will be hard to unlodge, but Spokane is more liberal than reputation suggests and the Dem bench isn't terrible. It'll depend on who runs to replace. If Baumgardner, unlikely to lose but it would improve Dem odds in his Senate district

[KingSweden]

And in the end it seems neither Gingrich, Giuliani or Christie ended up in the cabinet. I can see why, but I thought all three would end up being there despite all.

President Pence doesn't want the sycophants in the Cabimet when the 25th Amendment putsch happens

[KingSweden]

BTW, saw a report on Twitter that Kristi Noem is now being vetted for USDA. Interesting in that she's been running for Gov, but she'd be a logical choice

[KingSweden]

Zinke to Interior?? Plot twist!

That'd make MT 2018 interesting

[KingSweden]

Looks like CMR got completely blindsided by this. Pretty rude of the transition team.

Considering her post in House this was unwise. She also had a reputation for having a long memory

[KingSweden]

Honestly, I don't think Zinke and CMR have THAT different on views regarding BLM and such Interior matters. CMR would have brought more of a focus on hydropower (fine by me) but other than that no big difference.

So why dump her for the GOP's best crack at Tester? Doesn't make sense

[KingSweden]

My Speculation: Rep. Cramer of ND gets Agriculture and Rep. Gabbard of Hawaii Veterans.

Haha McConnell would melt down if Trump took two of the NRSC's top recruits into Cabinet

[KingSweden]

Trump picks Cramer for Agriculture

Nice nice.

From some light reading, Zinke actually seems like a really solid choice for Interior (from a GOP perspective). He's one of the only Western GOPers who is against selling off public lands and seems to have a conservationist streak. Much better than, say, Raul Labrador

[KingSweden]

I don't really like where this is going...

Politics1.com ‏@Politics1com
US Sen Joe Manchin (D-WV) told Chuck Todd he's "miserable" in Senate (not a "DC Democrat" type); & says Tillerson "has the heart of a lion"

Didn't little Marco say the same thing?

He'd be better off leaving and having Jim Justice appoint a real dem to his position

A real Dem would lose to just about anyone except Stupid Alex.

Tomblin would be formidable, I'd have to think?

[KingSweden]

Some pretty interesting tidbits in this story about how Trump ended up with Tillerson for State:

-Giuliani was the first choice, and was pushed hard by Gingrich, but Trump was concerned with his stamina and ego. Giuliani would only take State, so he walked away from anything else.

-Romney was the next choice, just behind Giuliani. He had a sense of duty and would only take State, but Trump's team was against Romney. A Romney ally claims Trump had requested a public apology from Romney, but Romney refused (Trump's team denies this).

-Corker stayed in the mix, but was mostly considered as a backup choice.

-Petraeus then became the focus, but consideration ended following news about his probation.

-Trump then met with Bob Gates, who recommended Tillerson. Gates' recommendation appears to have been key in Trump's decision.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-wasnt-happy-with-his-state-department-finalists-then-he-heard-a-new-name/2016/12/13/0727658e-c161-11e6-8422-eac61c0ef74d_story.html?utm_term=.63bc91710151

I would imagine, if Tillerson goes down, Corker is the backup choice (should have been Choice 1 from beginning but that's neither here nor there)

[KingSweden]

I imagine Otter would want the pick so that Little can become Gov and block out the Labrador faction

[KingSweden]

Promising that Donald Jr. nixed CMR specifically because she supported selling public land.

Agreed. I actually really like the Zinke pick

[KingSweden]

People under consideration for Ambassador positions:

-Lewis M. Eisenberg, RNC finance chairman: Possible choice for Italy.

-Woody Johnson, NY Jets Owner: A leading choice for UK.

-Jon Huntsman Jr.: Under consideration for Japan.

-Michèle A. Flournoy, a top Pentagon official for Obama: Under consideration for NATO ambassador.

-Duke Buchan, major supporter of Jeb Bush: Interested in Spain.

-Joseph Forgione, who was passed over for secretary of housing and development: Has support to become ambassador to the Vatican.

-William E. Simon Jr., an ally of and recommended by Rudolph W. Giuliani, also has support for the Vatican.

-Other people under consideration for various positions include: Peter S. Kalikow (New York developer), Robert Pence (Virginia developer, no relation to Mike Pence), Ronald J. Gidwitz (Jeb Bush supporter), Morris Goldfarb (Former chief executive of the G-III Apparel Group), Gov. James Gilmore (Recommended by Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg), John Jay LaValle (Suffolk County Republican Committee Chair), Georgette Mosbacher (Socialite).


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/21/us/donald-trump-ambassadors.html?_r=1&referer=

Flournoy would be an outstanding pick for NATO Ambassador. Would be his best pick behind Mattis and Zinke

[KingSweden]

Former Lt. Governor of California Abel Maldonado is considered for Agriculture. That one would be a decent choice.

Very nice.

[KingSweden]

Better than some hack from his campaign I guess

[KingSweden]

Jay Clayton nominated as SEC boss per USA Today

[KingSweden]

Hallie Jackson ‏@HallieJackson
Multiple sources tell @NBCNews former IN Sen. Dan Coats is "leading candiate" for DNI under Trump. (cc @HansNichols, @kwelker, @DafnaLinzer)

Sounds like a Pence pick.

I was excited to hear Townsend and Rogers thrown around for this one, but it wouldn't be a terrible choice In regards to this Russia mess. Coats seems clear-eyed about Putin from what I understand.

[KingSweden]

Trump chooses William Hagerty for Japan Ambassador.

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN14O1S4

What happened to Bonny Valentine?

[KingSweden]

Coats has been appointed DNI.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-picks-former-us-senator-coats-as-director-of-national-intelligence/ar-BBxWKxw?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp

John Schindler's stance is "could be much worse," and I will echo that.

Coats was Rummy's competition for Pentagon during GWB, interestingly enough

[KingSweden]

Coats is a reasonable choice. He's not necessarily part of my wing of the GOP but he doesn't strike me as particularly heinous.

And hopefully a counter to Flynn, who seems to have driven out Woolsey and is now butting heads with Mattis. The guy is seriously a cancer

[KingSweden]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

https://twitter.com/katherinemiller/status/817397624579964928

Interesting. I wonder if Hadley, Stavridis, Woolsey, or Townsend has been suggested to him.

Can't imagine Woolsey gets any job now. Any of those other three would be a strong choice

[KingSweden]

Interesting tidbit about the infighting in the Trump camp. Apparently, Mattis and Flynn do not like each other:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://thehill.com/policy/defense/313138-rivalry-brewing-on-trump-team

Def Team Mattis

[KingSweden]

Jennifer Griffin @JenGriffinFNC
EXCL: Trump transition asks Bob Work to stay on as Dep Defense Secretary, to serve as Gen Mattis deputy. Mattis confirmation Thurs. @foxnews

Excellent news. As the Crowley debacle shows, Flynn needs as little influence as humanly possible.