CUBS’ TODD RICKETTS UP FOR A TOP SPOT IN TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
WASHINGTON— Cubs board member Todd Ricketts is up for a top spot in the Trump administration, meeting Saturday with president- elect Donald Trump and vice- president- elect Mike Pence.
Ricketts was one of a stream of people huddling with Trump and Pence at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N. J., with some, like Ricketts, in for what amounted to a job interview.
Ricketts met a little less than an hour with Trump and Pence and the two most powerful men in the incoming Trump White House, chief of staff designate Reince Priebus and incoming senior advisor Stephen Bannon.
Ricketts left the club at 5: 59 p. m. eastern time and, according to a pool report, talked to Trump at the top of the steps of the clubhouse.
When asked about whether Ricketts would be in his cabinet, Trump said “We’re going to see, we’re going to have a lot of great talent.”
Later, the Trump transition operation said in a statement, “A constructive conversation occurred with Mr. Todd Ricketts. It involved domestic com- merce, ingenuity and growth for our country. Discussions on tax reform regulations and entrepreneurial initiatives were also included.”
Ricketts, 47, is a Wilmette resident whose business background fits, if not as a Commerce Secretary, in a senior post as an economic advisor or as an undersecretary or agency head.
Ricketts runs the conservative political operations of the GOP wing of the Ricketts family, led by his parents, Marlene and Joe Ricketts, the founder of T. D. Ameritrade.
During the 2016 GOP primary season, the GOP Ricketts clan led a charge to stop Trump. Last spring, when Trump all but snared the Republican presidential nomination, the GOP Ricketts’ shifted to Trump, with Todd Ricketts an Illinois Trump delegate to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
The GOP Ricketts family contributed $ 1.25 million to a super PAC, formed to help elect Trump, Future 45 and its affiliated non- profit, the 45 committee. Follow Lynn Sweet on Twitter: @ lynnsweet.