PM Abe visits US as Trump looks to build his cabinet
the region. The meeting was to take place after a busy day in which Trump will meet a stream of potential new hires as well as holding talks with influential Republican realpolitik strategist Henry Kissinger, now 93.
In an interview with the Atlantic magazine following the vote, Kissinger said Trump could “establish coherence between our foreign policy and our domestic situation”. There is “obviously a gap between the public’s perception of the role of US foreign policy and the elite’s perception”, said Kissinger, who served as secretary of state and head of the national security council in the 1970s.
New contender for State?
One fresh name floated for a cabinet post is South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who according to CNN and MSNBC is being considered for secretary of state and other posts.
Until now, US news outlets have suggested former NewYork mayor Rudy Giuliani was tipped for the job of top diplomat.
Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, originally supported Marco Rubio for president but eventually came around to supporting Trump.
Retired general Michael Flynn is being considered for the role of national security adviser – a position that does not require senate confirmation, NBC News reported. Flynn is one of the few national security experts who strongly supported Trump during the campaign.
Between 2012 and 2014, the 57-year-old headed the Defense Intelligence Agency but left under a cloud because of clashes with personnel and administration officials, US media reported.
Rick Perry – former governor of oil-rich Texas and one of the contenders that Trump crushed in the Republican primary – is being considered for energy secretary, the Wall Street Journal reported. If so, the appointment is likely to raise eyebrows with many recalling an embarrassing moment during the 2011 Republican primary when he struggled to remember the third government agency he wanted to eliminate.
Perry said that when he became president “there’ll be three agencies I’ll end: commerce, education . . .” The moderator asked if he could name the third agency. “No,” said Perry. “Oops.”
The answer was the Department of Energy.
Trump’s team has sought to tamp down talk of turmoil amid widespread reports of a backstabbing purge of mainstream Republican aspirants.
“It’s false to say it’s not going well. Everything up there is very smooth,” his former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told reporters.
Trump rejected the negative reports on Twitter as “so totally wrong”, and slammed the New York Times as “fools” for their transition coverage.
Trump spokesman Jason Miller told the Times that the firings were designed to remove lobbyists from the team.
Late on Wednesday, Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that anyone leaving the incoming Trump administration would be “banned from being a registered lobbyist for five years”.
The aim was to honourTrump’s goal “of making sure that people aren’t using government to enrich themselves”, he said.
Trump’s appointment of the anti-establishment firebrand Stephen Bannon as his chief strategist, however, has rankled many Democrats.
Bannon, who played a key role in the campaign, is on leave as chairman of the Breitbart website, which critics say is a haven for white supremacists.
At least 169 House Democrats signed a letter demanding that Trump remove Bannon, saying his appointment“directly under- mines your ability to unite the country.”
In first post-election appearance on Wednesday, Hillary Clinton told a benefit event that although many were “deeply disappointed” by the result, it was important to continue working for the greater good.
“Over the past week a lot of people have asked themselves whether America is the country we thought it was. The divisions laid bare by this election run deep, but please listen to me when I say this. America is worth it,” she said “I urge you: please don’t give up on the values we share . . . even if it may not seem like it right now, there is common ground to build on.”
Speaking at the event “wasn’t the easiest thing”, she said. “There have been a few times this past week when all I wanted to do is just to curl up with a good book or our dogs, and never leave the house again.”