Trump chooses two more for cabinet
Mitt Romney also talked to president-elect about secretary of state position
NEW YORK— President-elect Donald Trump made two cabinet selections on Tuesday, choosing fierce Obamacare critic Georgia Rep. Tom Price to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, and Elaine Chao, who served in the cabinet of George W. Bush, to serve as the secretary of the Department of Transportation.
The president-elect appeared to still be torn over his choice for secretary of state. He summoned former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to New York for dinner Tuesday night to discuss the post for a second time.
He was also meeting with Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, the chairperson of the Senate foreign relations committee who was getting new attention from Trump’s team. On Monday, Trump spent an hour with retired general David Petraeus, another new contender.
Trump’s decision to consider Romney for the powerful cabinet post has sparked an unusual public backlash from some of his closest aides and allies. Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway has warned that it would be a “betrayal” to Trump supporters if he selected Romney, who was a fierce critic of the president-elect during the campaign.
Trump announced his choice of Price, while the selection of Chao, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, was confirmed by a person with knowledge of the decision but not authorized to speak publicly.
Price is “exceptionally qualified” to lead an effort to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, Trump said in a statement.
The president-elect’s transition team did not immediately respond to questions about the congressman’s past commitment to transform Medicare into a voucher-like system, a position at odds with Trump’s repeated campaign promises not to cut the popular health-care program that serves an estimated 57 million people.
“Chairman Price, a renowned physician, has earned a reputation for being a tireless problem solver and the go-to expert on health-care pol- icy, making him the ideal choice to serve in this capacity,” Trump said.
Chao led the Department of Labor for several years under Bush.
Trump won praise from Republicans on Tuesday for his pick of Price to serve as health and human services secretary.