Presented By
Get alerts from Forty Five blog
Donald Trump's Cabinet-in-waiting: What we know so far
AP Photo
The rumor mill is churning out names as Washington watches to see who President-elect Donald Trump will select for to fill his Cabinet.
The people Trump picks will not only be tasked with running entire departments, they'll be the best indication of how Trump intends to govern and which of his many (and sometimes contradictory) policy positions he intends to pursue.
Here are picks announced so far:
Read more here.
Dinner for 3: Trump, Romney and Reince
Getty
Donald Trump, Mitt Romney and an unexpected third party - incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus - seemed to have a pleasant enough dinner in New York tonight, noshing on steaks and lamb chops at the tony Jean Georges restaurant in Trump Tower.
As these things go, Donald Trump and Mitt Romney’s hyped dinner wasn't a quiet affair.
Trump’s transition team allowed a pooler in for a glimpse - Trump flashed a thumb’s up when asked how things were going - and CNN correspondent Jim Acosta happened to be eating a few tables away.
Trump adds vice chairs to transition team, including several women
AP Photo
Donald Trump’s transition effort added an array of new vice chairs, staff and executive committee members, including a number of prominent conservative women.
Among the additions: Reps. Marsha Blackburn, Cynthia Lummis, Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Tom Reed; Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin and Sen. Tim Scott as vice chairs, along with Kathleen Troia "K.T." McFarland who Trump has appointed as a deputy national security adviser.
Trump reaches deal with Carrier to keep some jobs in Indiana
AP Photo
President-elect Donald Trump reached a deal with United Technologies to keep "close to 1,000" factory jobs at the Carrier Air Conditioning plant in Indiana, the company tweeted this evening.
"We are pleased to have reached a deal with President-elect Trump & VP-elect Pence," the company said. "More details soon."
Carrier, which is owned by United Technologies, announced in February that it would move 1,400 jobs from Indianapolis to Mexico. A cell phone video of the announcement went viral, prompting candidate Trump to threaten to impose steep tariffs on air conditioners imported back to the U.S.
45 After Dark: Taking Shape Edition
AP Photo
Donald Trump’s cabinet is filling out.
Hours after tapping Rep. Tom Price to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and naming former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao as his pick for the Department of Transportation, POLITICO confirmed two impending economic appointments: Financier and Trump campaign finance chairman Steve Mnuchin to be Treasury secretary and investor Wilbur Ross to serve as Commerce secretary.
Ryan to meet with Pence and Priebus on Wednesday
Getty
Paul Ryan will huddle Wednesday with Vice President-elect Mike Pence and incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus on Capitol Hill, the speaker’s office said Wednesday.
The Wisconsin Republican and top Trump officials are expected to discuss the ongoing transition, according to Ryan’s spokeswoman AshLee Strong.
Trump on Tuesday tapped one of Ryan’s closest congressional allies, Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.), to lead the Health and Human Services Department. Former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.), was selected as Transportation Secretary.
High energy: Trump's flurry of announcements put him ahead of predecessors
Getty
President-elect Donald Trump’s flurry of cabinet appointments is putting him far ahead of schedule compared to recent presidential transitions.
In fact, Donald Trump has announced five more cabinet level appointments than President Barack Obama had by a comparable point in 2008, with two more top posts in the Trump administration all-but confirmed.
Trump has announced six cabinet level nominations: Sen. Jeff Sessions, for attorney general; Betsy DeVos, for education secretary; Gov. Nikki Haley for ambassador to the United Nations; Rep. Tom Price, for the Department of Health and Human Services; Elaine Chao to run the Department of Transportation.
Trump to pick billionaire Wilbur Ross as Commerce secretary
Getty
President-elect Donald Trump is expected as soon as Wednesday to nominate billionaire private-equity investor Wilbur Ross to be his Commerce secretary.
Ross, 78, is the founder of the private equity firm WL Ross & Co., known for restructuring failed companies in distressed sectors like steel, textile and coal. He has been a leading economic adviser to Trump during the campaign.
Ross would head a department with a wide array of responsibilities, ranging from monitoring the weather to enforcing export rules for goods with military uses. He would also be in charge of implementing U.S. trade laws, on which Trump has advocated a tough line to defend against unfairly priced or subsidized imports from China and other countries.
Trump to tap Mnuchin for Treasury secretary
AP Photo
In a sign that Donald Trump is turning to Wall Street to help run his incoming government, the president-elect is expected to announce Goldman Sachs alumnus Steven Mnuchin as his pick to head the Treasury Department, a source close to transition said.
If confirmed, the 53-year-old hedge fund CEO and Hollywood film producer would have a key role in shaping policies on taxes, financial regulation and the economy. He would be the third former Goldman executive to lead Treasury in recent decades following Henry Paulson and Robert Rubin.
POLITICO's Victoria Guida and Ben White have more here.
Rep. Lou Barletta under consideration for labor secretary
Getty
Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.) told reporters he's under consideration for labor secretary.
According to a transition pool report, Barletta said that he and President-elect Donald Trump “talked about the secretary of labor.” When asked whether he was interested in the position, Barletta said, “I’m going to consider what we talked about.”
Barletta is a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee and would likely roll back key Obama administration regulations. In September, he backed a proposal to delay the Labor Department’s final overtime rule by six months, calling it ‘“ill-considered." (A Texas judge issued a preliminary injunction against the rule last week.)
Corker praises Trump as State Department speculation continues
Getty
Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, who just two weeks ago appeared to take himself out of the running for a Cabinet post, played coy when reporters asked him on Tuesday if he is back in the running to head the State Department.
“So, again, I'm here,” Corker, who also chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters, according to a pool report. “There are discussions underway about other things. This is a decision that he needs to make. The secretary of state's role is so important to a president. He needs to choose someone that he's very comfortable with and he knows that there's going to be no daylight between him and them. He needs to know that the secretary of state is someone who speaks fully for the president."
Quayle visits Trump to 'offer personal congratulations'
AP Photo
Dan Quayle, the last Hoosier elected vice president until Mike Pence came along, paid a visit to President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday.
After having breakfast with Pence, Quayle visited Trump Tower to “offer personal congratulations” to Trump Tuesday afternoon, he told reporters afterward.
“I had talked to him recently on the phone. Things are in good hands. He’s moving forward and he’s going to make America great again,” Quayle said.
Read more here.
BET founder says Trump was interested in having him in cabinet
BET founder Bob Johnson turned down the possibility of taking of a cabinet position in President-Elect Donald Trump's administration during a meeting with Trump, he said in an interview Tuesday.
Johnson told CNBC that Trump and his advisers “hinted” at a possible role in the administration during a “candid, frank conversation” on Nov. 20 at the Trump National Golf Club.
“He hinted at something I could be interested in, and I quickly shut that down,” Johnson said, adding that it was a “cabinet position” that was floated.
Read more here.
Trump talks with UK Prime Minister, agrees to meet 'at the earliest possible opportunity'
AP Photo
President-elect Donald Trump spoke by phone with British Prime Minister Theresa May Tuesday morning and agreed to meet “at the earliest possible opportunity,” according to a statement from May’s office.
“They discussed how the President-elect’s transition plans were progressing and agreed that their teams should continue to build close relationships through this period, including with a meeting of their national security advisers in the United States before Christmas,” the statement said. “They discussed NATO, agreeing on the importance of the Alliance, the need for more NATO members to meet the target of spending 2% of GDP and the role that NATO can play in addressing diverse threats. They agreed to stay in close touch and to meet at the earliest possible opportunity.”
Trump and Bloomberg seek to bury the hatchet in lengthy phone call
Getty
By Annie Karni and Alex Isenstadt
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg -- a self-made billionaire who considered mounting his own third party presidential bid this year but ultimately quelled his own ambitions for fear of helping to elect Donald Trump -- phoned the president-elect on Monday.
It was a “very good talk, and long,” said a source familiar with the discussion, who would not elaborate on the details. Trump and Bloomberg -- who made two cameos on “The Apprentice” and has golfed with his fellow Manhattan business mogul in the past -- had not spoken since the former Republican mayor delivered a scorching anti-Trump screed at the Democratic National Convention and endorsed Hillary Clinton for president.