Trump on Cabinet: ‘We’ve made a couple of deals’
On YouTube video, he talks about weekend spent meeting with ‘patriots’
After a busy weekend interviewing job candidates, President-elect Donald Trump spent Monday in meetings to fill out his economic and national security teams. Though his initial picks were a nod to immigration and national security hard-liners, Trump held court with a wide array of potential picks that could moderate those appointments.
What’s unknown is whether the meetings will lead to a diverse Cabinet or whether Trump will settle on additional loyalists like Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, whom he chose for attorney general, and retired Army lieutenant general Michael Flynn, who will serve as national security adviser.
“We’ve made a couple of deals,” Trump said after a weekend of meetings with no less than 21 job candidates at his golf resort in Bedminster, N.J.
Late Monday, he released a “video message” to the American people outlining the core principle of his presidency — “putting America first” — and laying out executive actions he wants to take beginning on Day 1, including scrapping regulations on energy production, withdrawing from trade agreements and “investigating all abuses of visa programs.”
“Whether it’s producing steel, building cars or curing disease, I want the next generation of production and innovation to happen right here, on our great homeland: America — creating wealth and jobs for American workers,” Trump said in the video, his first address since his acceptance speech on election night.
By posting the video on YouTube rather than making a personal appearance, he didn’t have to answer follow-up questions, and his aides could manage how he is portrayed, rather than relying on independent news media.
“Our transition team is work- ing very smoothly, efficiently and effectively,” Trump said in the video. “Truly great and talented men and women, patriots indeed, are being brought in, and many will soon be a part of our government, helping us to make America great again.”
The meetings incoming presidents hold to consider Cabinet and senior administration posts are often done in secrecy to avoid potential embarrassment for those who are passed over. Trump is a candidate who’s rejected the norms of campaign tradition, so it’s not surprising he may govern the same. His team is trying to counteract the notion that he is rewarding loyalists vs. selecting the most qualified candidates to fill his Cabinet. Allowing the media to document a diverse array of contestants could be beneficial to that end.
It’s unknown whether he’ll embrace a “team of rivals” approach by elevating his former foes. Trump had more meetings Monday, including one with Rick Perry. The former governor of Texas and ex-rival in the Republican primaries has been mentioned for a number of slots in Trump’s Cabinet, including the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Energy and Agriculture. That’s after a weekend meeting with the 2012 Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, who was harshly critical of Trump during the entire election process but who may be under consideration for secretary of State.
The president also met with a fairly prominent Democrat: U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who backed Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primaries. A military veteran, Gabbard has been a vocal critic of VA medical services.
In a statement released Monday Gabbard said, “While the rules of political expediency would say I should have refused to meet with President-elect Trump, I never have and never will play politics with American and Syrian lives.”