Amid transition, a recount
As a new White House takes shape, votes may be reviewed in 3 states
In case watching football, basting the turkey and scooping up Black Friday bargains made it hard to follow political news this week, here’s a recap courtesy of Trail Guide, the go-to political blog at latimes.com. For timely updates on Twitter, follow @latimespolitics.
More Trump picks
President-elect Donald Trump added to his West Wing roster Friday, naming K.T. McFarland as deputy national security advisor and Donald McGahn as his White House counsel.
McFarland has served in three Republican administrations, most notably as a spokeswoman for Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger under President Reagan.
In 2006, she sought to challenge Hillary Clinton for her U.S. Senate seat from New York, but lost in the Republican primary. Most recently she has been a regular contributor to Fox News on national security issues.
She joins retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, previously named as Trump’s national security advisor.
McGahn, who was general counsel for Trump’s campaign and a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, is a partner at the powerhouse Washington law firm Jones Day. President Obama revealed at a recent news conference that he had advised Trump to hire a strong White House counsel to guide him and his team, who could “provide clear guideposts and rules” to help avoid ethical and conflict-of-interest concerns. — Michael A. Memoli
Ambassador Farage?
Trump and Nigel Farage were always something of a love match. But cold political realities may have intervened.
The U.S. president-elect wrote on Twitter late Monday that Farage, leader of Britain’s far-right UK Independence Party, would make a “great” British ambassador to Washington.
Apparently, the British response early Tuesday could be summarized as: er, no.
“There is no vacancy,” the Guardian newspaper quoted a spokesman at 10 Downing St., the prime minister’s official residence in London, as saying. “We already have an excellent ambassador to the U.S.”
Farage was a leading proponent of “Brexit,” the June referendum in which Britain voted to exit the European Union, with still unknown long-term results.
The British politician traveled to the United States during Trump’s campaign to offer his support, making rally appearances to sometimes bemused crowds to promote their purported common cause. Farage was among the early visitors to Trump Tower following the Republican’s unexpected victory.
But hopes of a more formalized relationship appear to have been dashed. The Guardian quoted members of Parliament as saying Farage’s “inflammatory” views made him “a poor candidate for a diplomatic post.”
The Reuters news agency said it was “highly unusual” for an incoming foreign administration to so publicly air its preference for a diplomatic post. Trump’s suggestion, it noted, “provoked anger, support and even hilarity” in Britain. — Laura King
Top secret no more
Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state serving on Trump’s immigration policy transition team, probably didn’t intend for the world to see details of his plan to bar terrorists and Syrian refugees when he brought it to a meeting.
But that’s what happened Monday when he posed for a photo with Trump outside of Trump International Golf Club in New Jersey. The document was in full unobstructed view, as Kobach apparently wasn’t thinking about the power of a zoom lens. The clearest part reads:
“DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY KOBACH STRATEGIC PLAN FOR FIRST 365 DAYS
“Bar the Entry of Potential Terrorists
“Update and reintroduce the NSEERs [National Security Entry-Exit Registration System] screening and tracking system that was in place from 2002-2005. All aliens from high-risk areas are tracked.
“1. Add extreme vetting questions for high-risk aliens; question them regarding support for Sharia law, jihad, equality of men and women, the United States Constitution.
“2. Reduce intake of Syrian refugees to zero, using authority under the 1980 Refugee Act.
“Record Number of Criminal Aliens in the First Year”
Those details aren’t exactly new. Trump has made it clear that he intends to deport 2 million to 3 million immigrants in the country illegally who fall under his definition of “criminal.” And Kobach, who is behind several controversial immigration laws and was the architect of the NSEERS program, has said previously that he will help Trump reverse Obama’s immigration policies.
The Obama administration set a second-term priority to deport migrants with criminal convictions. Since taking office, Obama has expelled more people than any other president in American history.
Less legible on Kobach’s document, but still visible, are references to a definition of “criminal alien” (“any alien arrested for any crime, and any gang member”), the phrase “386 miles of existing actual wall,” the Patriot Act, and “Draft Amendment to National Voter .... ” The last phrase may refer to the National Voter Registration Act.
Kansas Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Democrat, criticized Kobach. “That’s the height of irony if he’s wanting a job in Homeland Security and you’re able to see in a photograph what should be confidential information,” Hensley said. — Colleen Shalby
Stein asks for recount
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein on Friday formally requested a recount of the election results in Wisconsin.
Trump narrowly won Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and has a small lead in Michigan, where the result hasn’t been declared. Stein has said she plans to request recounts in the three states — all reliably Democratic in recent presidential elections — to see whether hacking may have taken place, though there’s no evidence voter results were hacked or electronic voting machines were compromised.
Wisconsin Elections Commission officials don’t believe the state has ever conducted a presidential recount. They estimate the process could cost as much as $1 million, which Stein’s campaign will have to cover.
Stein’s campaign has been raising money through online appeals since Tuesday to cover the costs of recounts, with $5.2 million raised as of Friday afternoon.
Wisconsin’s unofficial election results show Trump with 1,404,000 votes, Hillary Clinton with 1,381,823 and Stein with 31,000.
Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Michael Haas said the recount would probably begin next week.