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POLITICS Thursday, November 17, 2016 East Oregonian Page 7A Trump: Transition going ‘so smoothly’ Others describe turmoil, internal fights for power as appointments are considered By JULIE PACE and KEN THOMAS Associated Press NEW YORK — Pres- ident-elect Donald Trump and his team on Wednesday vigorously rejected charges of turmoil and infighting roiling efforts to set up his White House, national secu- rity and economic teams. A week after his upset victory, Trump said the enormous endeavor was proceeding “so smoothly.” Trump dished out his rebuttal on Twitter, spending yet another day ensconced in his New York skyscraper, beyond the public eye. Aides and allies vouched for the transition efforts on his behalf, suggesting some commotion was to be expected. “The beginning of any transition like this has turmoil because it’s just the nature of the process,” Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said as he left Trump’s transition headquarters in Washington. He said the picture of Trump’s administration would become clearer over the next two or three weeks. Others close to the transition process described advisers “fighting for power.” Trump has long stoked internal rivalries among his staff — both in his businesses and his campaign — and has created ambiguity in his transition about who has authority to make key decisions. Eric Trump, the pres- ident-elect’s son, raised expectations of imminent progress Wednesday, telling reporters in the morning that appointments were “likely” to come during the day. Then, other Trump aides suggested a slower pace. “We’re not going to rush to put names forward until we’re absolutely sure,” Trump spokesman Jason Miller said hours later. “We’re going to make sure that they’re people we’re confident will pass confirmation and we think AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster Vice President-elect Mike Pence walks past the media as he leaves Trump Tower with his wife Karen, Tuesday, in New York. Giuliani’s foreign work complicates candidacy for secretary of state AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at Trump Tower, Wednesday in New York. can implement the presi- dent-elect’s vision.” Trump’s team noted that President Barack Obama waited until a few weeks after the 2008 election to announce many of his Cabinet appointments. And former Michigan Rep. Pete Hoekstra, who has informally advised members of Trump’s national security team, blamed Trump’s detractors for the reports of drama. “When you’re doing a McConnell to lead Senate GOP, Schumer new Democratic leader cemented votes for the top job after current Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., W A S H I N G T O N announced he’d retire. Most — Senate Republicans of each party’s leaders will re-elected Mitch McConnell remain in their posts next on Wednesday to be majority year, an ironic stability leader next year while following an election that Democrats picked Chuck seemed to show a demand by voters for change. Schumer to lead McConnell and them, setting the Schumer faced chief actors as the no opposition at chamber prepares separate closed- for an agenda that door meetings. will be dominated Later Wednesday, by Donald Trump Schumer visited and the GOP. McConnell in his McConnell, office, telling a 74, is a discreet reporter afterward: but deadly master McConnell “First meeting. of the Senate’s Working out legislative chess things.” game. His role will Republicans be to steer GOP will control the bills to the desk of White House, a president whose House and Senate name he barely but their potential spoke during Achilles’ heel is a tumultuous the Senate, which campaign in which they will dominate many Republicans 52-48. Assuming viewed Trump Schumer Republicans don’t and his incendiary comments on Muslims, eliminate the rule allowing veterans and others as polit- filibusters, Schumer should be able to keep the GOP from ical poison. “It’s time to accept the the 60 votes they’d need on results of the election, to some issues to break the lower the tone and to see what procedural delays, potential we can do together to make leverage for bargains. “Where we can work progress for the country,” McConnell, from Kentucky, together we will,” Schumer told reporters about Trump, told reporters Wednesday. As Senate minority with whom he shares an leader, Schumer will assume affection for TV soundbites his weakened party’s most and sharp elbows. But powerful remaining post as Schumer said he’s also told it struggles to define its role the president-elect, “On in a Republican-dominated issues where we disagree, you can expect a strong and government. The New Yorker’s ascen- tough fight.” Schumer has mentioned sion from his No. 3 spot has been a virtual lock since infrastructure as an area of last year, when he quickly possible cooperation. By ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Rudy Giuliani, President-elect Donald Trump’s top candidate for top diplomat, has advised foreign polit- ical figures and worked for lobbying and security firms whose clients have had complicated relationships with the U.S. government. Some of the political figures had ties to nationalist movements. While not personally involved in lobbying, Giuliani spent years at firms which represented govern- ments and multinational compa- nies with interests that diverged from those of the United States. transition that is trying to push the kind of change that Mr. Trump wants to be doing, it’s going to be even harder,” Hoekstra, a former House Intelligence Committee chairman, said. The incoming Repub- lican administration also got a boost of support from outgoing Vice President Joe Biden, who met with his successor, Mike Pence, continuing the Obama administration’s show of public support for the tran- He made speeches demanding the State Department remove an Iranian opposition group from a U.S. terror blacklist. As the former New York mayor waits to discover if he is Trump’s choice for secretary of state, Giuliani’s extensive consulting and advising work for foreign and corporate clients could expose him to the same criticisms he raised about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s ties to foreign governments and corporations that had donated to her family charity, the Clinton Foundation. sition. “No administration is ready on Day One,” Biden said following the meeting at the Naval Observatory, which serves as the vice presidential residence. He expressed confidence that by Trump’s Jan. 20 inaugu- ration, “everything will be in good hands.” Trump’s team was essentially starting from scratch, scrapping much of the preliminary transition work New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie conducted during the campaign. After winning the election, Trump demoted Christie and put Pence in charge. The result has been a series of new additions to the transition team and several departures, mainly among those aligned with Christie. Kevin O’Connor, a former senior Justice Department official, joined that group. Trump appeared to be weighing an eclectic mix of individuals for top Cabinet posts, including longtime loyalists, former rivals and even a Demo- crat. A senior transition official said Trump’s team met Wednesday with Eva Moskowitz, a former New York councilwoman and charter school founder who is being considered for education secretary. Others who passed through the marble lobby of Trump Tower included Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., a potential pick for Health and Human Services, and Ray Wash- burne, a Dallas businessman and top GOP fundraiser in the mix for Commerce secre- tary. New England Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft also entered the gilded elevators for meetings. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who arrived Wednesday afternoon, has been angling for secretary of state, though his consulting work for foreign govern- ments has emerged as a potential roadblock. Trump is also said to be seriously considering John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, for the top diplomatic job. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who tangled ferociously with Trump during the Republican primary but ultimately endorsed the businessman, could get a top job such as attorney general. An official said, however, he is not viewed as a top contender. The official, like others, wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the transition talks and spoke on condition of anonymity. Trump aides have released few details about the pres- ident-elect’s schedule or phone calls since the election. They tried to play catch-up Wednesday, releasing a list of 29 world leaders who have spoken with Trump or Pence in recent days. Most of the calls had previously only been confirmed by those leaders’ governments. Trump planned to meet Thursday in New York with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, his first get-to- gether with a world leader as president-elect. The State Department has said it had yet to hear from Trump’s transition team, raising the prospect of the Republican holding the meeting without any input from career diplo- mats with deep experience dealing with Japan. Trump businesses could create conflicts By BERNARD CONDON AP Business Writer NEW YORK — Asked on TV earlier this year whether a President Donald Trump would ever mix politics with business, his eldest son, Donald Jr., said there was no risk of that. The son, an executive in his father’s company, insisted the two wouldn’t discuss the business if Dad ever got to the White House. Then Donald Jr. added two words: “Trust me.” The American people may have little choice. The tradition stretching back to Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s is for presidents to put personal holdings such as stocks into a “blind trust” run by an independent trustee with no ties to the occupant of the Oval Office. But as with so many other areas of politics, Trump looks ready to upend this time-honored practice. Trump’s plans to hand control of his Trump Orga- nization to three of his adult children and not a trustee cannot be considered a blind trust, said Kenneth Gross, head of political law at the firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Even if the presi- dent-elect were to appoint a trustee with no family ties, that would probably not remove the potential for Trump to use his new power over policy to enrich himself. Liquidating Trump’s holdings would be difficult, and so he would always be aware of what assets he holds. Voters have long worried about elected officials using their power to line their pockets — or those of busi- ness partners — and shape policies to advance their but the rules do not apply to the president. One area where the public interest could clash with the personal involves Trump’s influence over federal agencies whose decisions affect his busi- nesses. In turning the govern- ment-owned Old Post Office into his new Washington hotel, Trump struck a complex rental and management deal with the AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster General Services Admin- Donald Trump Jr. waits for an elevator at Trump Tower istration. As president, he on Tuesday in New York. will appoint the head of the GSA. And one of Trump’s lenders, Deutsche Bank, is in settlement talks with the Justice Department over its role in the mortgage blowup that sparked the 2008 financial crisis. Trump will appoint the head of that agency, too. For his part, Trump has dismissed the idea that he is even interested in his busi- ness now. In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday, he said he was AP Photo/Richard Drew People carry umbrellas against the rain outside the fully engaged in efforts to “save our country.” Trump Tower building on Fifth Avenue in New York. “I don’t care about hotel private interests. But rarely tries — in the Middle East, occupancy,” he added. has an incoming president India and South America. He called matters like that Gross calls Trump’s “peanuts.” represented such potential holdings “unprecedented” for conflicts of interest. The Trump Organization No previous commander in size and complexity said in a statement that it is in chief has brought with for a president, a “tangled “vetting various structures” him such a sprawling busi- web” of potential conflicts with the goal of transferring ness empire with so much that would be difficult to management to three of complexity, opaqueness and unravel. Trump’s children, along As it turns out, Trump with a “team of highly opportunity for self-dealing. Trump owns golf clubs, doesn’t even have to try. skilled executives.” Presidents are not office towers and other Carter started the properties in several coun- required to set up blind tradition of presidential tries. He holds ownership trusts. In fact, they can even blind trusts when he put his stakes in more than 500 run a business from the peanut farm in one. All the companies. He has struck White House, though Trump presidents who followed licensing deals for use of has said he will not. Federal also set up one, according his name on hotels and other ethics rules put strict limits to Gross, save for Barack buildings around the world on nearly all government Obama, who mostly had and has been landing new employees and elected offi- holdings in plain-vanilla business in even more coun- cials to prevent self-dealing, index funds.
