Donald Trump says only he knows who his cabinet finalists are
Donald Trump continues to use Twitter like no one before him, and on Tuesday, he turned to his trusted mode of communication to reassure followers that all is well as he makes the transition to the White House.
"Very organized process taking place as I decide on cabinet and many other positions," he tweeted. "I am the only one who knows who the finalists are!" Trump's transition team has been going through very public turmoil. Mike Rogers, a former House Intelligence Committee chairman who was advising Trump on national security picks, departed Tuesday. A former State Department official under former President George W. Bush, Eliot A. Cohen, tweeted Tuesday he had an exchange with Trump's transition team and recommended people "stay away. They're angry, arrogant, screaming 'you LOST!' Will be ugly."
On Friday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) was demoted from head of the team to vice-chairman, replaced by Vice President–elect Mike Pence. Several people close to the team told NBC News that Christie was seen as being insufficiently loyal to Trump, and that Rogers and others close to the governor were victims of a "Stalinesque purge." Trump also listens closely to his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, whose father, Charles Kushner, was prosecuted by Christie in 2004 on charges of tax fraud and witness tampering; he was sentenced to two years in federal prison.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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