Mitt Romney is 'under active and serious consideration' for secretary of state, Mike Pence says
Former Gov. Mitt Romney, a strident critic of Donald Trump, met with the president-elect in New Jersey on Saturday, and on Sunday's Face the Nation, Vice President-elect Mike Pence said the two men had "not only a cordial meeting, but also it was a very substantive meeting." Pence said he could not say when Trump would make his selection, but "I can say that Gov. Romney is under active and serious consideration to serve as secretary of state of the United States." On Fox News, Pence said of Romney: "I know he is under active consideration to be secretary of state... along with some other distinguished Americans."
Romney would be an interesting pick, aside from the two men's previous antipathy. Romney is less of a hard-liner on many issues than Trump's earliest picks, and he famously named Russia as America's top geopolitical adversary; Trump and his national security adviser, Gen. Michael Flynn, advocate for closer ties with Russia.
Trump wants JP Morgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon for treasury secretary, The Wall Street Journal reports, but since Dimon is disinclined to take the job, he is reportedly deciding between investment banker Steven Mnuchin and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), a conservative ideologue. For commerce secretary, Trump is considering Wilbur Ross, a billionaire investor and campaign donor. Reince Priebus, Trump's incoming White House chief of staff, said not to expect any more Cabinet picks until after Thanksgiving.
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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