Beren Smith
Infighting has been reported within the Donald Trump transition team, which finds itself in a state of disorganization, especially after the sudden departure of Former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers.
The debate, rather a “knife-fight” according to an insider, is about shuffling within the team, key cabinet positions and questions over the role of his three children and son-in-law in his plans.
According to NBC News which quoted a source as saying Rogers was the victim of a “Stalinesque purge” of people close to Christie. “Two sources close to the situation described an atmosphere of sniping and backbiting as Trump loyalists position themselves for key jobs,” the network reported.
Trump has, however, downplayed the situation by tweeting late Tuesday night, “Very organized process taking place as I decide on Cabinet and many other positions. I am the only one who knows who the finalists are!”
As reported by Reuters following is the list of the key cabinet positions to be filled and the probable contenders:
Secretary of State:
* Bob Corker, Tennessee senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
* John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush
* Newt Gingrich, Republican former U.S. House Speaker
* Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. ambassador to Iraq
* Rudy Giuliani, Republican former mayor of New York City
Treasury Secretary:
* Steven Mnuchin, former Goldman Sachs executive and Trump’s campaign finance chairman
* Jeb Hensarling, Texas Republican congressman and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee
* Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase & Co chief executive officer
* Tom Barrack, founder, and chairman of Colony Capital Inc
Defense Secretary:
* Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency
* Stephen Hadley, former national security adviser under President George W. Bush
* Jon Kyl, former Republican senator from Arizona
* Jeff Sessions, Republican senator from Alabama and early Trump supporter, member of the Senate Armed Services Committee
* Kelly Ayotte, outgoing Republican senator from New Hampshire and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee
* Duncan Hunter, Republican congressman from California and early Trump supporter, member of House Armed Services Committee
* Jim Talent, former Republican senator from Missouri who was on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Attorney General:
* Rudy Giuliani
* Jeff Sessions, senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who takes a hard line on immigration
* Chris Christie, Republican New Jersey governor
* Pam Bondi, Republican Florida Attorney General
* Trey Gowdy, Republican congressman from South Carolina who headed the House committee that investigated the 2012 attacks on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya
Health and Human Services Secretary:
* Ben Carson, former neurosurgeon, and 2016 Republican presidential candidate
Newt Gingrich
* Rich Bagger, former pharmaceutical executive and former top aide to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
* Bobby Jindal, former Louisiana governor
Homeland Security Secretary:
* Michael McCaul, U.S. Republican congressman from Texas and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee
* David Clarke, Milwaukee county sheriff, and vocal Trump supporter
* Joe Arpaio, outgoing Maricopa County, Arizona, sheriff who campaigned for Trump.
Head of the Environmental Protection Agency:
* Myron Ebell, a climate change skeptic at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute who is overseeing environmental policy on Trump’s transition team
* Robert Grady, venture capitalist, partner in private equity firm Gryphon Investors
* Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas attorney general
* Carol Comer, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Energy Secretary:
* Harold Hamm, Oklahoma oil and gas mogul, CEO of Continental Resources Inc
* Larry Nichols, co-founder of Devon Energy Corp
* James Connaughton, CEO of Nautilus Data Technologies and a former environmental adviser to President George W. Bush
* U.S. Representative Kevin Cramer, of North Dakota
* Robert Grady
Interior Secretary:
* Sarah Palin, Republican former Alaska governor who ran for vice president in 2008Jan
* Brewer, former Arizona governor
* Jan Brewer, former Arizona governor
* Forrest Lucas, founder of oil products company Lucas Oil
* Harold Hamm
* Robert Grady
Commerce Secretary:
* Linda McMahon, former world Wrestling Entertainment executive and two-time Senate candidate
CIA Director:
* Lieutenant General Michael Flynn
* Mike Rogers, Republican former representative from Michigan who chaired the House Intelligence Committee
* Pete Hoekstra, Republican former representative from Michigan
National Security Adviser:
* Lieutenant General Michael Flynn
* Stephen Hadley
UN Ambassador Adviser:
* Kelly Ayotte
* Richard Grenell, former spokesman for the United States at the United Nations
Peter King, Republican representative from New York
U.S. Trade Representative:
* Dan DiMicco, former chief executive of steel producer Nucor Corp
Veterans Affairs Secretary:
* Jeff Miller, retiring congressman from Florida and chairman of the Veterans Affairs committee
Having made some about turns in his campaign pledges, Trump is intent on implementing some of them, for example, he plans to go ahead with building the Mexican border wall with some fencing in certain parts of the border, limiting abortion rights, closer ties with Russia, no ban on guns for citizens, pulling out of the climate treaty with Paris, abandoning Obama’s “Clean Power Plan”, banning immigration of people from “some of the most dangerous and volatile regions of the world”, amendment of Obamacare, trade war with China.
While there are apprehensions galore over his presidency in different sectors of the business populace, there are some who feel that such apprehensions are uncalled for. Most have adopted a wait and watch policy and are gearing up for the possible changes before U.S. political landscape.
The fact of the matter remains that Donald Trump is President – elect of the U.S. and the majority of Americans have given him that mandate.