Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie apparently turned down offers to join the Trump administration no fewer than seven times.
At a recent event to promote his new book, Christie listed off a whole series of jobs that Trump offered him back in 2016, noting that some offers were extended more than once, reports Axios. "Secretary of Labor, twice," he said. "Secretary of Homeland Security, twice. Ambassador to Rome. Ambassador to the Vatican. And special assistant to the president."
This may not even be an exhaustive list, as CNN had reported in 2016 that Trump also offered Christie the job of Veterans Affairs secretary, which he didn't mention this week. According to that report, the only job Christie actually wanted was attorney general, but Trump didn't offer that.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Of course, Christie is only talking about the transition here; more recently, Trump met with Christie about possibly being his next chief of staff in December, but Christie withdrew from consideration, saying, "now is not the right time for me or my family to undertake this serious assignment."
Based on Christie's book, in which he describes the administration as consisting of "amateurs, grifters, weaklings, convicted and unconvicted felons," it sounds like he feels he dodged a bullet.
-
Testosterone therapy in women highlights the lack of women’s health researchThe explainer There is no FDA-approved testosterone product for women
-
Magazine solutions - November 7, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 7, 2025
-
Magazine printables - November 7, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 7, 2025
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
