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| Donald Trump’s Team Shows Few Signs of Post-Election Moderation | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| President-elect Donald J. Trump is picking up the pace with his cabinet and top White House staff choices, and despite the fervent wishes of some Democrats that some views expressed during the campaign would be moderated after the election, the new administration’s team is maintaining a decidedly conservative bent. Vice President-elect Mike Pence, meanwhile, is sticking with and repeating the campaign’s slogan: Make America great again. | |
| For anyone hoping for tempers to cool and partisans to moderate, welcome to the rest of 2016. | |
| The choice of Senator Jeff Sessions, a Republican of Alabama, to be attorney general, and Representative Mike Pompeo, Republican of Kansas, to be director of central intelligence, as well as the appointment of Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn as national security adviser, appear to have put to rest talk of a cooling-off period in the wake of Election Day. | |
| Conservative groups are ecstatic. The Trump transition team hailed Mr. Sessions as a champion of civil rights. | |
| “Senator Sessions is someone who’s universally respected across party lines in the United States Senate,” said Jason Miller, a Trump transition spokesman. | |
| The other side? | |
| Representative Luis V. Gutiérrez, a Democrat from Illinois, said in a statement: “If you have nostalgia for the days when blacks kept quiet, gays were in the closet, immigrants were invisible and women stayed in the kitchen, Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is your man. No senator has fought harder against the hopes and aspirations of Latinos, immigrants, and people of color than Senator Sessions.” | |
| Some Democrats kept their challenges minimal for Mr. Pompeo. | |
| “As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Congressman Pompeo has a firsthand appreciation for Congress’ responsibility to provide vigilant oversight of our nation’s intelligence activities, and I look forward to learning more about his views,” said Senator Mark R. Warner of Virginia, the incoming Senate Intelligence Committee vice chairman. | |
| On the other hand, Jon Soltz, chairman of the liberal veterans group VoteVets.org, greeted the selection of Mr. Pompeo by saying, “This administration is turning out to be as scary, bigoted and abnormal as most people feared.” | |
| As for General Flynn? | |
| “Michael Flynn has shown a stunning contempt for the Geneva Conventions and other laws prohibiting torture,” said Sarah Margon, Washington director at Human Rights Watch. “By offering this key post to Flynn, President-elect Trump is undermining U.S. commitments to international laws that have been broken to America’s detriment.” | |
| Vice President-elect Mike Pence told the news media on Friday that teams of transition staff members who will be working directly with federal agencies have arrived in Washington. | |
| “The president-elect is a man of action, and we’ve got a great number of men and women with great qualifications looking forward to serving in this administration, and I am just humbled to be a part of it,” Mr. Pence said. | |
| He added, “I am very confident it will be a smooth transition that will serve to lead this country forward and make America great again.” | |
| Mr. Pence walked away as a reporter asked whether the Alt-Right is racist. | |
| Mr. Pompeo, the president-elect’s pick to direct the C.I.A., may also be a way for Mr. Trump to warm relations with the Koch Industries directors Charles and David Koch. | |
| Mr. Pompeo was first elected to Congress with a large amount of financial support and a prominent public endorsement from the Koch brothers, and the Kansas congressman has remained closely aligned with them since. Individuals associated with Koch Industries are by far the biggest donors to Mr. Pompeo’s political career, contributing $357,000 to him since 2009. | Mr. Pompeo was first elected to Congress with a large amount of financial support and a prominent public endorsement from the Koch brothers, and the Kansas congressman has remained closely aligned with them since. Individuals associated with Koch Industries are by far the biggest donors to Mr. Pompeo’s political career, contributing $357,000 to him since 2009. |
| The Koch brothers — among the biggest players in financing Republican candidates nationwide — had largely remained on the sidelines in this year’s presidential race. | The Koch brothers — among the biggest players in financing Republican candidates nationwide — had largely remained on the sidelines in this year’s presidential race. |
| Mr. Pompeo has been a staunch proponent of bringing newly captured terrorism suspects to the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for interrogation and open-ended detention, as President Obama has refused to do. At a 2013 congressional hearing, Mr. Pompeo called the prison operation in Cuba lawful and humane, and dismissed a hunger strike among the detainees at the time as a “political stunt.” | Mr. Pompeo has been a staunch proponent of bringing newly captured terrorism suspects to the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for interrogation and open-ended detention, as President Obama has refused to do. At a 2013 congressional hearing, Mr. Pompeo called the prison operation in Cuba lawful and humane, and dismissed a hunger strike among the detainees at the time as a “political stunt.” |
| “We are still engaged in a counterterrorism battle all around the globe that continue to need to have a secure location in which to detain captured enemy combatants remains,” Mr. Pompeo said. | “We are still engaged in a counterterrorism battle all around the globe that continue to need to have a secure location in which to detain captured enemy combatants remains,” Mr. Pompeo said. |
| Mr. Pompeo has also been a defender of broad government surveillance programs and an opponent of limits the Obama administration imposed after the leaks of the former intelligence contractor Edward J. Snowden. Those included the U.S.A. Freedom Act, which ended the National Security Agency’s once-secret program that collected Americans’ domestic calling records in bulk and replaced it with a system in which the government has to get a court order to obtain specific records from phone companies. | Mr. Pompeo has also been a defender of broad government surveillance programs and an opponent of limits the Obama administration imposed after the leaks of the former intelligence contractor Edward J. Snowden. Those included the U.S.A. Freedom Act, which ended the National Security Agency’s once-secret program that collected Americans’ domestic calling records in bulk and replaced it with a system in which the government has to get a court order to obtain specific records from phone companies. |
| In an op-ed he co-authored in January, Mr. Pompeo called for rolling back such reforms. | In an op-ed he co-authored in January, Mr. Pompeo called for rolling back such reforms. |
| Mr. Pompeo was a prominent member of the special House committee that investigated the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya. Although the panel found no new evidence of wrongdoing by the Obama administration or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Mr. Pompeo and another conservative member of the committee, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, were convinced of a wider cover-up. When the committee released its findings in June, the two Republicans filed their own 48-page addendum that was far harsher. | Mr. Pompeo was a prominent member of the special House committee that investigated the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya. Although the panel found no new evidence of wrongdoing by the Obama administration or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Mr. Pompeo and another conservative member of the committee, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, were convinced of a wider cover-up. When the committee released its findings in June, the two Republicans filed their own 48-page addendum that was far harsher. |
| The addendum said that the attacks showed that the State Department was “seemingly more concerned with politics and Secretary Clinton’s legacy than with protecting its people in Benghazi.” | The addendum said that the attacks showed that the State Department was “seemingly more concerned with politics and Secretary Clinton’s legacy than with protecting its people in Benghazi.” |
| “With the presidential election just 56 days away, rather than tell the American people the truth and increase the risk of losing an election, the administration told one story privately and a different story publicly,” they concluded. | “With the presidential election just 56 days away, rather than tell the American people the truth and increase the risk of losing an election, the administration told one story privately and a different story publicly,” they concluded. |
| Trey Gowdy, the committee’s chairman and no shrinking violet when it came to Mrs. Clinton, did not put his name on the addendum. | Trey Gowdy, the committee’s chairman and no shrinking violet when it came to Mrs. Clinton, did not put his name on the addendum. |
| During the campaign, Mr. Trump said he relished his day in court to defend Trump University from the fraud charges being brought by some former students — and greenlighted by a judge he said was unfair because of his Mexican heritage. | During the campaign, Mr. Trump said he relished his day in court to defend Trump University from the fraud charges being brought by some former students — and greenlighted by a judge he said was unfair because of his Mexican heritage. |
| It seems as if the president-elect might want a clean slate before he is inaugurated the 45th president of the United States, according to The New York Daily News. | It seems as if the president-elect might want a clean slate before he is inaugurated the 45th president of the United States, according to The New York Daily News. |
| Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee and one of the most vocal members of the “Never Trump” movement, is scheduled to meet this weekend with Mr. Trump. | Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee and one of the most vocal members of the “Never Trump” movement, is scheduled to meet this weekend with Mr. Trump. |
| He may not want to repeat what he said in March: “Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University.” | He may not want to repeat what he said in March: “Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University.” |
| Mr. Romney also called Mr. Trump “a con man, a fake,” and poked fun at his “Make America Great Again” baseball caps by saying Mr. Trump was “playing the American public for suckers: He gets a free ride to the White House, and all we get is a lousy hat.” | Mr. Romney also called Mr. Trump “a con man, a fake,” and poked fun at his “Make America Great Again” baseball caps by saying Mr. Trump was “playing the American public for suckers: He gets a free ride to the White House, and all we get is a lousy hat.” |
| Of course, many Republicans who assailed Mr. Trump in the primaries have changed their tune. (See: Senator Ted Cruz.) But Mr. Romney’s criticism was particularly brutal. And Mr. Trump was quick to respond. | Of course, many Republicans who assailed Mr. Trump in the primaries have changed their tune. (See: Senator Ted Cruz.) But Mr. Romney’s criticism was particularly brutal. And Mr. Trump was quick to respond. |
| “Failed candidate Mitt Romney, who ran one of the worst races in presidential history, is working with the establishment to bury a big ‘R’ win!” Mr. Trump said on Twitter in response to Mr. Romney’s critique. | “Failed candidate Mitt Romney, who ran one of the worst races in presidential history, is working with the establishment to bury a big ‘R’ win!” Mr. Trump said on Twitter in response to Mr. Romney’s critique. |
| The two men spoke last week after a preliminary call from Mr. Romney to a Trump aide on election night. But the notion of Mr. Romney in a Trump cabinet may be nothing more than an attempt at misdirection: getting reporters confused about who the real candidates are to be the nation’s top diplomat. | The two men spoke last week after a preliminary call from Mr. Romney to a Trump aide on election night. But the notion of Mr. Romney in a Trump cabinet may be nothing more than an attempt at misdirection: getting reporters confused about who the real candidates are to be the nation’s top diplomat. |
| Or it could be a way of sending an unsettling signal to Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, who appears to very much want that secretary of state job. | Or it could be a way of sending an unsettling signal to Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, who appears to very much want that secretary of state job. |
| The president-elect made quite a boast on Twitter on Thursday. | The president-elect made quite a boast on Twitter on Thursday. |
| Followed by: | Followed by: |
| The only wrinkle: Ford was never planning to move the plant. | The only wrinkle: Ford was never planning to move the plant. |
| During the campaign, Mr. Trump repeatedly criticized Ford for moving production to Mexico, and he threatened to impose a 35 percent tariff on vehicles made there. | During the campaign, Mr. Trump repeatedly criticized Ford for moving production to Mexico, and he threatened to impose a 35 percent tariff on vehicles made there. |
| Ford makes the Lincoln MKC, a sport utility vehicle, at a factory in Louisville. Last week, Ford said it planned to move production of the vehicle elsewhere. But Ford had not planned to close the Louisville factory. Instead, it had planned to expand production of another vehicle made in Louisville, the Ford Escape. And the change had not been expected to result in any job losses. | Ford makes the Lincoln MKC, a sport utility vehicle, at a factory in Louisville. Last week, Ford said it planned to move production of the vehicle elsewhere. But Ford had not planned to close the Louisville factory. Instead, it had planned to expand production of another vehicle made in Louisville, the Ford Escape. And the change had not been expected to result in any job losses. |
| “Whatever happens in Louisville, it will not lose employment,” Jimmy Settles, a union official, told The Detroit Free Press. “They cannot make enough Escapes.” | “Whatever happens in Louisville, it will not lose employment,” Jimmy Settles, a union official, told The Detroit Free Press. “They cannot make enough Escapes.” |
| Add another name to the list for potential secretary of defense: Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, a 39-year-old veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Cotton could be called a Trumpian conservative — eager to spend billions of dollars more on the military, virulently opposed to the Iranian nuclear deal and determined to bomb the something out of the Islamic State. | Add another name to the list for potential secretary of defense: Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, a 39-year-old veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Cotton could be called a Trumpian conservative — eager to spend billions of dollars more on the military, virulently opposed to the Iranian nuclear deal and determined to bomb the something out of the Islamic State. |
| But he also wove a careful line in an interview on Thursday, warning about President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. | But he also wove a careful line in an interview on Thursday, warning about President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. |
| Mr. Putin — who has received nothing but praise from the president-elect — “has to have a new set of boundaries,” Mr. Cotton said in a half-hour conversation at a conference sponsored by Defense One, a national security news website that is read widely in the military world. The senator added that the best way to deter Russia was “to be ironclad in our support of our allies,” and he diplomatically declined to say whether Mr. Trump’s threat to pull out of NATO unless its member states contributed more to their common defense constituted such support. | Mr. Putin — who has received nothing but praise from the president-elect — “has to have a new set of boundaries,” Mr. Cotton said in a half-hour conversation at a conference sponsored by Defense One, a national security news website that is read widely in the military world. The senator added that the best way to deter Russia was “to be ironclad in our support of our allies,” and he diplomatically declined to say whether Mr. Trump’s threat to pull out of NATO unless its member states contributed more to their common defense constituted such support. |
| Mr. Cotton is more than a generation younger than others being considered for the job, including another Republican senator, Jeff Sessions of Alabama. Mr. Cotton is still deeply attached to his former units in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is pressing for a $26 billion supplemental allocation to the Pentagon, which he hopes the Senate will vote on early next year. | Mr. Cotton is more than a generation younger than others being considered for the job, including another Republican senator, Jeff Sessions of Alabama. Mr. Cotton is still deeply attached to his former units in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is pressing for a $26 billion supplemental allocation to the Pentagon, which he hopes the Senate will vote on early next year. |