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| Donald Trump’s Team Shows Few Signs of Post-Election Moderation | Donald Trump’s Team Shows Few Signs of Post-Election Moderation |
| (about 2 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 views expressed during the campaign would be moderated after the election, the new administration’s team is maintaining a decidedly conservative bent. Up next, secretary of defense? | |
| James N. Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, will meet the president-elect at Mr. Trump’s New Jersey country club on Saturday to discuss the post of defense secretary, according to two people close to the transition team. | |
| Conservatives this spring had wooed General Mattis to run for president as an independent as they sought an alternative to Mr. Trump. While he was receptive to the idea, he ultimately decided against running. “The thoughtfulness and patriotism — and for that matter, the modesty — Jim showed as he reflected on this decision make me more convinced than ever that he would have made a truly admirable president, and also a good candidate,” William Kristol, the editor of the conservative Weekly Standard, wrote at the time. | |
| General Mattis, 66, is widely respected in the military community and could bring with him a top-notch staff of civilian experts. He was the head of the United States Central Command, which oversees all military operations in the Middle East, from 2010 to 2013 but crossed swords with President Obama over his push for a more aggressive presence in the Persian Gulf. | |
| Under federal law, a former military official must be out of uniform for seven years to become defense secretary. General Mattis retired three years ago, and Congress would have to grant him a waiver. | |
| But General Mattis is not the only candidate. Senator Tom Cotton, the hawkish military veteran from Arkansas, was in Trump Tower on Friday and is still in the hunt. | |
| He didn’t get attorney general. He’s still in the running for secretary of state, though the Trump team has let it be known that the former Trump nemesis Mitt Romney will be meeting with the president-elect to discuss that job. | |
| So where is Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York and stalwart Trump loyalist? | |
| Spotted in Palm Beach, where he says he needs some rest. | |
| But don’t count him out. When asked whether Mr. Giuliani was a favorite to become secretary of state, Representative Devin Nunes of California, a member of the transition team’s executive committee, said he did not want to speculate. But Mr. Nunes lavished praised on Mr. Giuliani. | |
| “He would absolutely be a great secretary of state — he’s America’s mayor, is widely respected around the world and is a fine example of the type of person we want representing us abroad,” Mr. Nunes said. | |
| Representative Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, won a Senate seat last week — and with it, one of the worst jobs in American politics: leader of the committee tasked with protecting incumbent colleagues and maybe winning a seat or two in 2018. | |
| Senator Chuck Schumer, the incoming minority leader, announced on Friday that Mr. Van Hollen would serve as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for the 2018 cycle. | |
| “Chris Van Hollen was our first choice for D.S.C.C. chairman because of his talents, his work ethic and his experience,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement. “The map is tough for Democrats, but I have no doubt that Senator-elect Van Hollen is up to the task.” | |
| Tough indeed: Democrats gained a mere two Senate seats on Election Day — New Hampshire and Illinois — and will be defending a daunting 23 seats in 2018, as well as two held by independents who caucus with them — Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont — and roughly half of those states were won by President-elect Trump. | |
| In contrast, Democrats have one real target, Senator Dean Heller of Nevada, and maybe two with Jeff Flake of Arizona if things go south for the new president. | |
| (Of note, Mr. Van Hollen knows the highs and lows of the job, having led the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for his party’s 2008 wave, then getting washed out in the 2010 Republican deluge.) | |
| For anyone hoping for tempers to cool and partisans to moderate, welcome to the rest of 2016. | For anyone hoping for tempers to cool and partisans to moderate, welcome to the rest of 2016. |
| The choice of Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama to be attorney general and Representative Mike Pompeo of Kansas to be director of central intelligence — as well as Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn to be national security adviser — appear to have put to rest talk of a cooling-off period after Election Day. | |
| Conservative groups are ecstatic. The Trump transition team hailed Mr. Sessions as a champion of civil rights. | 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. | “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? | The other side? |
| Representative Luis V. Gutiérrez, Democrat of 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 immediate challenges minimal for Mr. Pompeo. | Some Democrats kept their immediate 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. | “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.” | 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? | 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.” | “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. | 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. | “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.” | 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 was 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 G. and David H. 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 — remained largely 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. |
| 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.” |