Gif-afied: The Trump transition
It’s been nearly a month since the election and Donald Trump has been working to solidify his inner circle. We’ve got a recap for you, gif-style.
Trump was quick to request security clearance for his kids.
Especially for Ivanka’s hubby, Jared Kushner.
Trump picked Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus as his White House chief of staff.
Then he named his campaign’s chief executive officer Steve Bannon, a guy with ties to white nationalists, as his “chief strategist.”
Kansas Congressman Mike Pompeo, who received more money from the Koch brothers than any other candidate in 2010, was tapped as CIA director. Trump chose Michael Flynn, who was fired as the chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency, for national security adviser.
The Trump team has rewarded loyalty. He picked Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, the first senator to endorse him, to be the next attorney general.
Though there’s been no formal announcement, Trump confirmed that General James Mattis is his nominee for secretary of defense. “Mad Dog” Mattis once said, “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.”
Elisabeth DeVos is one of two women on Trump’s proposed Cabinet. She’s been tapped as secretary of education. Betsy with the good hair is a billionaire who never attended public schools, she just redirected public funding to charter schools.
It’s no surprise former Goldman Sachs partner Steven Mnuchin was picked for secretary of the treasury … because, ya know, investors and bank execs are the people who should control the American economy.
After serving in the Departments of Labor and Transportation under both Bush presidents, Elaine Chao has the résumé to take on infrastructure reform as secretary of transportation.
Billionaire Wilbur Ross served as a senior economic policy adviser for Trump’s campaign. As a thank you, Trump gave the position of secretary of commerce to his billionaire buddy. P.S.: Ross is a big-league fan of deregulation.
Trump’s top pick for secretary of health and human services is a major critic of the Affordable Care Act. Congressman Tom Price plans to cut funding for Medicare, Medicaid … and Planned Parenthood.
Ben Carson is teetering on whether he’ll join Trump’s team. Early on an aide said he didn’t want a position since he had no experience running a federal agency. But now there’s talk that Trump wants him to take on the role of secretary of housing and urban development.
Trump has yet to name his secretary of state, but Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani are being considered.
Trump still needs to pick people for major roles like secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and energy secretary.
We’ll keep you posted.
