Conservatives welcome Donald Trump with delight – and wariness
For the past eight years, thousands of conservative activists have descended on Washington each spring with dreams of putting a Republican in the White House. This year, they’re learning reality can be complicated. With Donald Trump‘s presidential victory, the future of the conservative movement has become entwined with an unconventional New York businessman better known for his deal-making than any ideological principles. It’s an uneasy marriage of political convenience at best. Some conservatives worry whether they can trust their new president to follow decades of orthodoxy on issues like international affairs, small government, abortion and opposition to expanded legal protections for LGBT Americans — and what it means for their movement if he doesn’t. “Donald Trump may have come to the Republican Party in an unconventional and circuitous route, but the fact is that we now need him to succeed lest the larger conservative project fails,” said evangelical leader Ralph Reed, who mobilized his organization to campaign for Trump during the campaign. “Our success is inextricably tied to his success.” As conservatives filtered into their convention hall Wednesday for their annual gathering, many said they still have nagging doubts about Trump even as they cheer his early actions. A Wednesday night decision to reverse an Obama-era directive that said transgender students should be allowed to use public school bathrooms and locker rooms matching their chosen gender identity has thrilled social conservatives. “He’s said that on multiple occasions that he’s not a conservative, especially socially,” said Zach Weidlich, a junior at the University of South Alabama, “but my mind-set was, give him a chance, especially now that he’s elected.’” “He was the better of two evils given the choice,” added Timmy Finn. “I agree with his policies, however, I think he’s moving a little too fast.” Trump has a somewhat tortured history with the Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual convention that’s part ideological pep talk, part political boot camp for activists. Over the past six years, he’s been both booed and cheered. He’s rejected speaking slots and galvanized attendees with big promises of economic growth and electoral victory. At times, he has seemed to delight in taunting them. “I’m a conservative, but don’t forget: This is called the Republican Party, not the Conservative Party,” he said in a May interview on ABC’s “This Week.” Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which hosts CPAC, said Trump’s aggressive style is more important than ideological purity. “Conservatives weren’t looking for somebody who knew how to explain all the philosophies. They were actually looking for somebody who would just fight,” he said. “Can you think of anybody in America who fits that bill more than Donald Trump?” Trump is to address the group Friday morning. Vice President Mike Pence is to speak Thursday as are White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and senior advisers Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway. The tensions between Trump’s brand of populist politics and conservative ideology will be on full display at the three-day conference, which features panels like: “Conservatives: Where we come from, where we are and where we are going” and “The Alt-Right Ain’t Right At All.” Along with Trump come his supporters, including the populists, party newcomers and nationalists that have long existed on the fringes of conservativism and have gotten new voice during the early days of his administration. Pro-Brexit British politician Nigel Farage will speak a few hours after Trump. Organizers invited provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos after protesters at the University of California at Berkeley protested to stop his appearance on campus. But the former editor at Breitbart News, the website previously run by Bannon, was disinvited this week after video clips surfaced in which he appeared to defend sexual relationships between men and boys as young as 13. Trump “is giving rise to a conservative voice that for the first time in a long time unabashedly, unapologetically puts America first,” said Republican strategist Hogan Gidley. “That ‘America First’ moniker can very well shape this country, but also the electorate and the Republican Party and conservative movement for decades.” Trump’s early moves — including a flurry of executive orders and his nomination of federal Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court — have cheered conservatives. They’ve also applauded his Cabinet picks, which include some of the most conservative members of Congress. The ACU awarded his team a 91.52 percent conservative rating — 28 points higher than Ronald Reagan and well above George H.W. Bush who received a 78.15 rating. But key items on the conservative wish list remain shrouded in uncertainty. The effort to repeal President Barack Obama‘s health care law is not moving as quickly as many hoped, and Republicans also have yet to coalesce around revamping the nation’s tax code. No proposals have surfaced to pursue Trump’s campaign promises to build a border wall with Mexico that could cost $15 billion or more or to buttress the nation’s infrastructure with a $1 trillion plan. Conservatives fear that those plans could result in massive amounts of new spending and that Trump’s penchant for deal-making could leave them on the wrong side of the transaction. “There is wariness,” said Tim Phillips, president of Koch-brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity. But with a Republican-controlled Congress, others believe there’s no way to lose. “He sits in a room with Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan. Is there a bad a deal to made with those three in the room?” asked veteran anti-tax activist Grover Norquist. “A deal between those three will, I think, always make me happy.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Donald Trump Month Two: Talks on health care and on tax overhaul
As President Donald Trump begins his second month in office, his team is trying to move past the crush of controversies that overtook his first month and make progress on health care and tax overhauls long sought by Republicans. Both issues thrust Trump, a real estate executive who has never held elected office, into the unfamiliar world of legislating. The president has thus far relied exclusively on executive powers to muscle through policy priorities and has offered few details about what he’ll require in any final legislative packages, like how the proposals should be paid for. The White House also sent conflicting signals about whether the president will send Congress his own legislative blueprints or let lawmakers drive the process. White House chief of staff Reince Priebus told The Associated Press that he expects a health care plan to emerge in “the first few days of March.” Pressed on whether the plan would be coming from the White House, Priebus said, “We don’t work in a vacuum.” On Sunday, White House advisers held a three-hour meeting on health care at Trump’s South Florida club, their third lengthy discussion on the topic in four days. Gary Cohn, the former Goldman Sachs banker now serving as Trump’s top economic adviser, and newly sworn in Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin have been leading talks with Republican lawmakers and business leaders on taxes. Neither man has prior government experience. Republicans long blamed Democrats for blocking efforts to overhaul the nation’s complicated tax code and make changes to the sweeping 2010 health care law signed by President Barack Obama. But with the GOP now in control of both the White House and Congress, making good on those promises rests almost entirely with the president and his party. To some Republicans’ chagrin, both issues were overshadowed during Trump’s first month. The president spent more time publicly fighting the media than selling Americans on his vision for a new health care law. Fresh questions emerged about Trump’s ties to Russia, particularly after national security adviser Michael Flynn was fired for misleading the White House about his conversations with a Russian envoy. The White House botched the rollout of a refugee and immigration executive order, Trump’s most substantive policy initiative to date, and the directive was quickly blocked by the courts. Priebus said the distractions did not slow down work happening behind the scenes on the president’s legislative priorities. “Obviously with the White House staff, you’re able to walk and chew gum at the same time,” Priebus said. “The economic team isn’t screwing around with the legal case and the lawyers aren’t screwing around with tax reform.” One of the biggest questions on Capitol Hill is how involved Trump plans to be in legislative minutia. One GOP leadership aide whose office has been working with the White House described the president as a “big picture guy” and said he expected Trump to defer to Capitol Hill on health care in particular. The aide was not authorized to speak publicly and insisted on anonymity. Priebus said he expects Congress to pass both a tax package and legislation repealing and replacing Obama’s health care law by the end of the year. But the White House’s outward confidence belies major roadblocks on both matters. After spending years criticizing “Obamacare,” Republicans are grappling with how to replace it and pay for a new law. While some lawmakers worry about getting blamed for taking health insurance away from millions of people, others worry the party won’t go far enough in upending the current system. “My worry now is that many people are talking about a partial repeal of Obamacare,” Rep. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said. “If you only repeal part of it and you leave it some sort of Obamacare light, which some are talking about, my fear is the situation actually gets worse.” Trump has said he wants to keep popular provisions like guaranteeing coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions and allowing young people to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until age 26. He’s also raised the prospect of allowing people to buy insurance across states lines, which is not part of the law. On taxes, Republicans have a potentially more vexing impasse. House Republicans want to scrap the 35 percent tax on corporate profits, which is riddled with exemptions, deductions and credits, and replace it with a “border adjustment tax.” The system would tax all imports coming into the U.S., but exclude exports from taxation. House Speaker Paul Ryan‘s office has been vigorously promoting the idea to Trump, who has called the system “too complicated.” Some House aides have privately voiced optimism that the White House is coming around, though Priebus would only say that border adjustment was “an option we’re all discussing and debating.” The president has said he plans to release a “phenomenal” tax plan in the coming weeks. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Sean Spicer says 20 percent tax on Mexican imports just an option
The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times EST): 4:50 p.m. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer now says slapping a 20 percent tax on imports from Mexico is just one of several options on the table for paying for a wall along the southern border. Spicer says President Donald Trump has yet to make a final decision about how the U.S. will recoup the costs of his proposed border wall. Spicer had said earlier Thursday that Trump wanted to slap a 20 percent tax on all imports from Mexico and predicted the tax would generate $10 billion a year. He had told reporters on Air Force One that Trump has discussed the idea with congressional leaders and wanted to include the measure in a comprehensive tax reform package. But Trump’s chief of staff Reince Priebus said later that the administration has “a buffet of options” to pay for the wall. ___ 4:45 p.m. President Donald Trump still knows how to win a television time slot. ABC reached 7.5 million viewers for its Wednesday night interview special of the president speaking to anchor David Muir. It was billed as Trump’s first network television interview since his inauguration last week. The special beat every other program competing at 10 p.m., according to the Nielsen company. CBS’ “Code Black” drama came in second with 5.6 million viewers. ___ 4:45 p.m. A Democratic congressman says he got a call from President Donald Trump, who wants to meet with him to discuss the price of prescription drugs. Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings said Thursday he received the short but cordial call a day earlier “to my surprise.” Cummings says Trump told him they would not agree on everything, but they could find some common ground on trying to address the rising costs of prescription drugs. Cummings says he’s looking forward to the meeting, which hasn’t been scheduled yet. Cummings also says Trump asked about the congressman’s special assistant, Katie Malone, who was injured in a fire at her home this month that killed six of her nine children. Cummings says the president said he wanted to make a contribution to help the family and expressed sincere sympathy. ___ 4:40 p.m. President Donald Trump has signed his first presidential proclamation, declaring this week “National School Choice Week.” The proclamation states that because education is important, parents should have the right to a “meaningful choice” about where their children goes to school. Charter schools and school choice are expected to be major elements of federal education policy in Trump’s administration. Betsy DeVos, Trump’s nominee for education secretary, has spent more than two decades advocating for school choice programs. Such programs provide students and parents with an alternative to a traditional public school education. DeVos is awaiting a Senate vote on her nomination. The proclamation adds that a renewed commitment to expanding school choice can make a great education possible for every child in America. ___ 3:35 p.m. President Donald Trump wants to pay for his proposed southern border wall by slapping a 20 percent tax on imports from Mexico. White House spokesman Sean Spicer says Trump has discussed the idea with congressional leaders and wants to include the measure in a comprehensive tax reform package. Spicer spoke to reporters on Air Force One as Trump flew back from a Republican retreat in Philadelphia. He says that taxing imports from Mexico would generate $10 billion a year and “easily pay for the wall.” Spicer says discussions are continuing with lawmakers to make sure the plan is “done right.” But he says it “clearly provides funding” for the wall. ___ 3:30 p.m. President Donald Trump’s chief White House strategist says that the media should “keep its mouth shut.” In an interview with The New York Times, published Thursday, Bannon said that the media is the “opposition party” of the new administration and “should be embarrassed and humiliated” by the unanticipated election result. The article cites Bannon as referring to himself at one point as “Darth Vader.” Asked if he was concerned that press secretary Sean Spicer lost credibility after a forceful opening press conference peppered with false information, Bannon replied, “we think that’s a badge of honor.” He adds, “The media has zero integrity, zero intelligence and no hard work.” ___ 3:15 p.m. Vice President Mike Pence is offering Republican lawmakers a preview of the upcoming Supreme Court pick. He says President Donald Trump will nominate a “strict constructionist” to the high court. Pence is speaking to House and Senate Republicans at a retreat in Philadelphia. He notes Trump plans to announce the Supreme Court pick next week and says he can “already tip you off.” Pence says the choice will be a “strict constructionist,” or a jurist who supports a narrow reading of the U.S. Constitution. The vice president says the choice will have a “top-notch legal mind” and a “commitment to the Constitution.” ___ 2:45 p.m. The United Nations hopes that any measures President Donald Trump takes on refugees are temporary, citing U.S. leadership in resettling people forced to flee their homes. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Thursday that taking in refugees is especially important when the world has seen the largest movement of migrants since World War II. He said it’s a basic principle of the United Nations that “refugees need solidarity and need help,” and at this time there’s never been a greater need for their protection. A draft executive order obtained by The Associated Press shows Trump intends to stop accepting Syrian refugees and to suspend the United States’ broader refugee program for 120 days. According to the U.N., refugees total nearly 21.3 million, half of them under age 18. ___ 1:45 p.m. President Donald Trump is claiming that he and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto agreed jointly to cancel their planned meeting over disagreements about who will pay for Trump’s promised southern border wall. Trump says during a Republican House and Senate retreat in Philadelphia that, “The president of Mexico and
Grand Old Party? Donald Trump remaking GOP in his image
For eight years, a leaderless Republican Party has rallied around its passionate opposition to President Barack Obama and an unceasing devotion to small government, free markets and fiscal discipline. No more. On the eve of his inauguration, Donald Trump is remaking the party in his image, casting aside decades of Republican orthodoxy for a murky populist agenda that sometimes clashes with core conservative beliefs. Yet his stunning election gives the GOP a formal leader for the first time in nearly a decade. The New York real estate mogul becomes the face of the party, the driver of its policies and its chief enforcer. Despite their excitement, Republican loyalists across the country concede that major questions remain about their party’s identity in the age of Trump. The simple answer: The modern-day Republican Party stands for whatever Trump wants it to. “He’s a sometime-Republican,” American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp said. “Donald Trump was elected without having to really put all the details out on all these questions. We are going to see in the first six months how this plays out. Does government get bigger or does it get smaller?” Trump is eyeing a governing agenda that includes big-ticket items that Schlapp and other conservative leaders would fight against under any other circumstances. Yet some see Trump’s agenda as more in line with the concerns of average Americans, which could help the party’s underwhelming public standing and keep them in power. The president-elect initially promised a massive infrastructure spending bill to update the nation’s roads and bridges, an investment that could dwarf the infrastructure spending Republicans opposed when it appeared in Obama’s 2009 stimulus package. Trump has also vowed to put the federal government in the child care business by allowing parents to offset child care costs with tax breaks. And he has railed against regional trade deals and threatened to impose tariffs on some imports, a sharp break from the free-market approach that has defined Republican policies for decades. “From a policy perspective, he might be one of the more flexible Republican presidents. He’s just not encumbered with 30 years of Republican ideology,” said veteran Republican operative Barry Bennett, a former Trump adviser. “If there’s a win involved, he’s interested,” Bennett said. Republicans in Congress and elsewhere have expressed some hesitation, but most appear to be willing to embrace the incoming president’s priorities — at least at first. There are indications that Trump may initially avoid issues that would divide his party. That’s according to Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Reince Priebus, who said in a recent radio interview that the new administration will focus in its first nine months on conservative priorities like repealing Obama’s health care law and rewriting tax laws. In a postelection interview with The New York Times, Trump acknowledged that he didn’t realize during the campaign that New Deal-style proposals to put people to work building infrastructure might conflict with his party’s small-government philosophy. “That’s not a very Republican thing — I didn’t even know that, frankly,” Trump said. Trump’s confusion can be forgiven, perhaps, given his inexperience in Republican politics. He was a registered Democrat in New York between August 2001 and September 2009. And once he became a Republican, his political views were shaped from his perch in New York City, where the Republican minority is much more liberal — particularly on social issues — than their counterparts in other parts of the country. Trump said he was “fine” with same-sex marriage in a postelection interview in November, for example. And while he opposes abortion rights, he supported Planned Parenthood’s non-abortion-related women’s health services throughout his campaign. It’s unclear how aggressively Trump will fight for his priorities, but there are signs that he’s not expected to have much tolerance for detractors in either party. He has been remarkably thin-skinned, using Twitter to jab critics like former President Bill Clinton, “Saturday Night Live” and a little-known union official from Indiana. “You cross him at your peril,” said Rick Tyler, a Republican strategist who worked for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz‘s GOP presidential bid. Tyler said Trump’s leadership style as he prepares to enter the Oval Office sends a clear message: “Unless you move in my way, I’ll make your life, including Republicans, pretty miserable.” At the same time, the public’s perception of the Republican Party seems to be improving, albeit modestly. A NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted in December found that 37 percent of Americans have a positive rating of the GOP compared to 36 percent who have an unfavorable view. That’s slightly better than the Democratic Party, which earns positive marks from 34 percent and negative from 42 percent. Before Trump’s rise, the Republican Party’s message didn’t necessarily resonate with the needs of “everyday Americans,” said veteran Republican strategist Alex Conant. “The challenge for the party now is to adopt policies that fulfill those needs. And we have a lot of work to do on that front,” Conant said. The uncertainty leaves longtime Republican loyalists with more questions than answers about the future of their party. “The party will be what Trump wants it to be,” said Steve Duprey, a Republican national committeeman from New Hampshire. Republish with permission of The Associated Press.
Donald Trump rewards Michigan party chair with national role
President-elect Donald Trump wants Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel to be national party chairwoman, in part as a reward for the party carrying Michigan for the first time in 28 years. The choice of McDaniel to serve as Republican National Committee chairwoman was confirmed Tuesday night by a person familiar with Trump’s decision. The person asked for anonymity because the announcement has not yet been made. The niece of 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney also earned credit with Trump by faithfully supporting him after he won the party’s 2016 nod, despite sharp criticism from her famous uncle. “Ronna McDaniel, what a great job you and your people have done,” Trump told thousands at Deltaplex Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, last Friday. “I was very impressed with you. She didn’t sleep for six months!” Trump’s decision also marks a key victory for outgoing RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. As Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff, Priebus, who guided the at times unwieldy Trump through the general election, supported McDaniel as his replacement. Other Trump loyalists were urging him to name Nick Ayers, a close adviser to Vice President-elect Mike Pence. While Trump’s team has said there’s no outright power struggle, Trump’s deliberations over secretary of state were seen as an indicator of influence between Priebus and senior adviser Steve Bannon. Priebus was seen as supporting Mitt Romney to become Trump’s secretary of state. On Tuesday, Trump named Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his choice for the nation’s top diplomat. McDaniel would seem to validate Priebus’ performance as the chairman who turned around the financially strapped committee and ended its presidential losing streak. McDaniel would probably maintain the strategy of early spending in states, digital data and local party infrastructure, RNC insiders said. “They said a Republican could never win Michigan,” McDaniel told the audience in Grand Rapids Friday. “I knew better. You knew better and Donald Trump knew better.” For her work in Michigan, part of a swath of northern states that had eluded Republicans since the 1980s, McDaniel is the right call, said Henry Barbour, a Republican National Committeeman from Mississippi. Trump defied decades of precedent by also carrying Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — once-powerful, working-class Democratic states where manufacturing in smaller cities has declined. McDaniel, 43, would face immediate pressure to hold onto control of Congress in 2018. “I think she can help us hold a lot of these Rust Belt Democrats who voted for Donald Trump with good leadership and execution,” said Barbour. “Plus, she was willing to step out and support our nominee when her very famous uncle was doing the opposite. Now, that’s leadership.” Trump’s choices for RNC chairman and other party leadership positions carry immense sway with its members, who will vote on the team early next year. Should the committee approve Trump’s recommendation, McDaniel would become the second woman to be elected RNC chairman, and the first in 40 years. That’s a good sign for the party and Trump, said Michigan Republican Bob LaBrant, considering the 2005 recordings of Trump making sexually degrading remarks that were released during the campaign. “That sends a signal we need to send right now,” said LaBrant, former political director for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. “And Ronna is the right one to carry the message.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Donald Trump picks Rex Tillerson to lead State Department
President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday he has picked ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state, calling him “among the most accomplished business leaders and international dealmakers in the world.” “Rex Tillerson’s career is the embodiment of the American dream. Through hard work, dedication and smart deal making, Rex rose through the ranks to become CEO of ExxonMobil, one of the world’s largest and most respected companies,” the billionaire real estate mogul said in a pre-dawn news release from Trump Tower in New York. Tillerson “knows how to manage a global enterprise, which is crucial to running a successful State Department,” Trump said. In a tweet, Trump added that Tillerson “has vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments.” In an accompanying statement, Tillerson said he was “honored” by his selection and shares Trump’s “vision for restoring the credibility of the United States’ foreign relations and advancing our country’s national security.” But Tillerson has close ties to Russia and President Vladimir Putin, which is certain to draw scrutiny and fuel a potential Senate confirmation fight. Leading Republicans have already expressed anxieties as they contend with intelligence assessments saying Russia interfered with the U.S. presidential election to help Trump. Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that will hold confirmation hearings in January, called Tillerson “a very impressive individual” with “an extraordinary working knowledge of the world.” Corker, who had been considered for the secretary of state job, said Trump called him Monday to inform him of the pick. Reince Priebus, Trump’s incoming chief of staff, said Tuesday that Tillerson was chosen because he is “a diplomat that happens to be able to drill oil.” Tillerson has “had to maintain relationships across the world in many places that aren’t the easiest places to have relationships,” Priebus said on MSNBC. “The good Lord didn’t put oil in all freedom-loving democracies across the world and yet Rex Tillerson was able to make this work. Donald Trump and Rex Tillerson, they hit it off, and they have a similar vision of how to get things done,” Priebus said. Trump has made it clear he sees Tillerson’s deep relations with Moscow as a selling point. As ExxonMobil’s head, Tillerson maintained close ties with Russia and was awarded by President Vladimir Putin with the Order of Friendship in 2013, an honor for a foreign citizen. For weeks, Trump has teased out the secretary of state decision process publicly, often exposing rifts in his organization. Besides Corker, he also considered former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a one-time vocal Trump critic. Romney wrote on Facebook Monday that it “was an honor to have been considered” for the job. Trump’s unconventional Cabinet vetting procedures are in keeping with his presidential style thus far, unconcerned with tradition or business as usual. In recent weeks, he’s attacked CIA intelligence, spoken to the leader of Taiwan — irritating China — and has continued his late-night Twitter tirades. Beijing is looking forward to working with the new secretary of state “to push forward greater progress of the bilateral relationship on a new starting point,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said Tuesday. In Washington, a congressional investigation is in the works over a CIA assessment that Russia interfered in the November election on his behalf, a conclusion Trump has called “ridiculous.” The issue is raising red flags among lawmakers concerned about the sanctity of the U.S. voting system and potentially straining relations at the start of Trump’s administration. On Twitter Monday, Trump pushed back, saying: “Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory!” Putin, meanwhile, said he was ready to meet with Trump “at any moment.” In the transcript of his interview with journalists which was released Tuesday in Moscow, Putin said “it’s widely known that the elected president of the United States has publicly called for the normalization of the Russian-American relationship. We cannot but support this.” Putin added that he thought a meeting with Trump would be more likely after Trump’s January inauguration. “We understand it will not be a simple task considering the extent of degradation of the Russian-American relationship,” he said. “But we are prepared to do our bit.” If confirmed, Tillerson would face immediate challenges in Syria, where a civil war rages on, and in China, given Trump’s recent suggestions that he could take a more aggressive approach to dealing with Beijing. A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Tillerson came to ExxonMobil Corp. as a production engineer straight out of the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 and never left. Groomed for an executive position, Tillerson came up in the rough-and-tumble world of oil production, holding posts in the company’s central United States, Yemen and Russian operations. Early in the company’s efforts to gain access to the Russian market, Tillerson cut a deal with state-owned Rosneft. The neglected post-Soviet company didn’t have a tremendous amount to offer, but Exxon partnered with it “to be on the same side of the table,” Tillerson said, according to “Private Empire,” an investigative history of Exxon by Steve Coll. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Chief of staff Reince Priebus? Some Donald Trump loyalists still dubious
When President-elect Donald Trump tapped Reince Priebus as his chief of staff, Republican leaders cheered the prospect of a close ally having a top White House job. But as Priebus tries to wield his influence and bring more structure to the president-elect’s freewheeling political organization, he’s frustrating some longtime Trump allies who see him as too conventional a pick for an unconventional president. Others fear being left behind as Priebus fills out West Wing jobs. The dismay over Priebus stems in part from a belief among some Trump loyalists that the outgoing Republican National Committee chairman expected Trump to lose the election. They resent the president-elect “rewarding people who thought he wasn’t going to win,” according to one top adviser. Still, Priebus appears to have Trump’s trust. He’s been given wide authority to name senior White House staff, according to people involved in the transition, and in shaping the decision on who will succeed him at the RNC, though deliberations over that post continue. “Reince Priebus has done an outstanding job,” Trump said in a statement to The Associated Press. “All you have to do is look at all of the Republican victories and one in particular.” If Trump runs his White House like past presidents — and that’s hardly a sure thing — Priebus, 44, could hold enormous sway over what issues reach the Oval Office. Chiefs of staff also typically control who has access to the president — no easy task given Trump’s penchant for consulting a wide network of associates before making key decisions. Priebus, a Wisconsin native and father of two young children, comes to the White House with no significant experience in foreign and domestic policy. He has close ties with House Speaker Paul Ryan and other GOP congressional leaders. And he’s seen by those who have worked with him previously as a well-organized manager with little appetite for drama. “One of the things he’ll bring to the White House is an ability to work well with people, to be inclusive, not to get in to intrastaff squabbles,” said Henry Barbour, an RNC member and Priebus ally. Yet internal squabbling and competing factions are a hallmark of Trump’s political and business organizations. He cycled through three campaign managers during his White House run, with the feuds that led up to each shake-up playing out messily in the media. In tapping Priebus as chief of staff, Trump appeared to be setting up another rivalry. He put Steve Bannon, the controversial conservative media executive, at the White House as a senior adviser and called him an equal partner with Priebus. Trump’s influential son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is also weighing a White House role, but will remain a personal power center even without a formal position. Transition officials say Priebus and Bannon have a respectful relationship, and there’s no outright control struggle underway. But Trump’s deliberation over whom to name as secretary of state is seen as an indicator of a tug-of-war, with Bannon among those said to be against Mitt Romney. Priebus is seen as an advocate for Romney and was notably the only adviser who joined Trump for a private dinner with the 2012 GOP presidential nominee. Several Trump advisers described Priebus’ role only on the condition of anonymity in order to speak candidly about the chief of staff. Josh Bolten, who served as President George W. Bush‘s final chief of staff, said he was concerned by the description of Bannon as Priebus’ equal. While presidents usually have multiple influential advisers, Bolten said, it’s imperative for the lines of authority to be clear. “If that were to mean that there’s more than one chief of staff, that’s a recipe for disaster,” Bolten said. Bolten is among several former chiefs of staff Priebus has consulted since the election. He’s spoken at least twice with Denis McDonough, President Barack Obama‘s chief of staff, as recently as last week. Priebus was frequently by Trump’s side in the final weeks of the campaign. After the release of a videotape in which the businessman was heard bragging about predatory behavior with women, Priebus stood by Trump and made clear the RNC would not abandon the party’s nominee. But some Trump advisers contend Priebus and the RNC believed he would lose the election. Indeed, on the Friday before Election Day, top party officials told reporters their data showed Trump falling short by about 30 electoral votes. Some Trump advisers have also blamed Priebus for the messy spectacle around the president-elect’s interview with The New York Times. Trump accused the Times of changing the terms of the interview and tweeted that he would cancel. Then the Times said the terms had not changed, and the interview was back on. One person involved in the situation said it was Priebus who incorrectly led Trump to believe the Times had changed the terms of the interview. “No matter how loyal the overall collection of personalities is to the president, there are always internal rivalries and tugging and pulling,” said John Sununu, who served as chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush and has spoken with Priebus in recent weeks. “It’s up to the chief of staff to deal with all of that.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Donald Trump’s hands-on management style to be tested by presidency
President-elect Donald Trump looked at hundreds of marble samples before selecting one for the lobby of Trump Tower. He can recall, in painstaking detail even decades later, how he stood in the cold and oversaw the ice-making process at Central Park’s rink. And, during the campaign, he personally reviewed every single campaign ad, rejecting some over the smallest of perceived flaws. The hands-on, minutiae-obsessed management style that Trump has relied on for decades in the business world will now be tested by the presidency, an overwhelming job in which his predecessor says only the most challenging decisions even make it to the Oval Office. “Somebody noted to me that by the time something reaches my desk, that means it’s really hard,” President Barack Obama has said. “Because if it were easy, somebody else would have made the decision and somebody else would have solved it.” The president-elect, at times, has been reluctant to delegate. But while his multinational business is indeed vast, the scope of the federal government exceeds any of his previous endeavors. Those close to him are gently suggesting that he will have to do some more delegating given the sheer volume of decisions needed to get his administration up and running, according to a person familiar with private discussions but not authorized to speak about them by name. Trump has chafed at that, but he has signaled willingness to relinquish some personal control. Over his career, Trump has been highly involved with the decisions he cares deeply about. When building Trump Tower, the Manhattan skyscraper he calls home, he settled upon a rare marble, Breccia Pernice, for the building’s lobby. But when he inspected the pieces that had been tagged for use, he found some blemishes — prompting a personal trip to Italy. “So we ended up going to the quarry with black tape and marking off the slabs that were the best,” Trump wrote in his 1987 book, “The Art of the Deal.” ”The rest we just scrapped — maybe 60 percent of the total. By the time we finished, we’d taken the whole top of the mountain and used up much of the quarry.” At the New York State Republican Dinner in April, Trump stood in front of a group of tuxedo-clad, moneyed, Manhattan peers, confidently pointing out the details in the Grand Hyatt hotel ballroom’s ceiling, remembering how he oversaw the construction process. He then recalled his push to fix Central Park’s Wollman Rink, going into remarkable detail about the contract negotiations, the depth of the concrete, the need to switch from copper piping to rubber hose to keep the ice frozen, and even the conversation he had with the Montreal Canadiens’ head ice-maker to make sure the process went smoothly. “I hope that’s an interesting story,” Trump told the crowd. “Who the hell wants to talk about politics all the time, right? Politics gets a little boring!” But Trump almost certainly won’t be able to exert that same of control over his new employees: The federal workforce is more than 2 million people. Obama frequently cites an observation by his first defense secretary, Robert Gates: “One thing you should know, Mr. President, is that any given moment, on any given day, somebody in the federal government is screwing up.” While Obama praises federal workers, he adds: “Even if you’re firing at a 99.9 percent success rate, that still leaves a lot of opportunity for things not to go as planned.” Other aspects of Trump’s management style may also not easily translate to the White House. His inner circle is famously small, consisting of longtime allies and his grown children, and his first key West Wing hires — chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Stephen Bannon — bring no policy experience to their new roles. Trump works long hours and expects those around him to do so as well. He can be quiet and disengaged in discussions about subjects with which he is unfamiliar but is prone to flash his temper and bark at aides. He is also known to go with his gut, is often swayed on positions by the last person he spoke to, and sometimes swoops in late and orders a change in plans, blowing up a travel schedule or policy rollout. Aides also often float suggestions to him through the media, knowing that Trump is a voracious watcher of cable TV and might be persuaded by what he sees and hears. Trump, whose TV catchphrase was “You’re fired,” is prone to pitting staffers against each other in both the business world and during his insurgent campaign. Over the summer, he hired Paul Manafort to prepare for the GOP’s convention and watched as staffers loyal to his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, repeatedly clashed with Manafort’s allies. Lewandowski lost the power struggle and was fired. Later, Manafort was dismissed, too, replaced by Bannon and Kellyanne Conway. Trump, in his 2004 book “How to Get Rich,” described his intense, loyalty-driven style. “I rely on a few key people to keep me informed,” he wrote. “They know I trust them, and they do their best to keep that trust intact.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Donald Trump popularity rising post-election, new poll shows
Since winning the presidential election, Donald Trump has become more popular with Americans, a new poll of registered voters shows. According to a survey conducted by POLITICO/Morning Consult Nov. 16-18, 45 percent of voters now have either a very favorable or somewhat favorable opinion of Trump. Twelve percent say they have a somewhat unfavorable opinion and 34 percent have a very unfavorable opinion of the president-elect. Anna Palmer of POLITICO calls it a “dramatic uptick” since the election Nov. 8. Trump’s favorability has jumped by 9 points, from 37 to 46 percent, compared to a similar Morning Consult poll taken just before the election. His unfavorability rating dropped 15 points, from 61 to 46 percent. In addition, less than one-third of respondents believe Trump’s children should play a role in his administration, and only one in four say certain Trump family members should be given security clearance. Voters are also supporting Trump’s call for a lobbying ban. Sixty-one percent of voters say they believe lobbyists should not serve in presidential administrations (Democrats by 55 percent; 67 percent of Republicans). Despite that, around four in 10 believe it is very or somewhat likely Trump will restrain the influence of lobbyists and special interests in his White House. President Barack Obama has also become slightly more popular, with 54 percent of voters approving his job performance; 43 percent disapprove. Before the election, 50 percent approved; 48 percent disapproved. “Trump’s favorability among voters has reached new highs since he became president-elect,” Morning Consult co-founder and Chief Research Officer Kyle Dropp told POLITICO in a statement. “This honeymoon phase in common for new presidents. For example, Obama saw about a 20-point swing in his favor following the 2008 election.” Trump’s transition also is being well received, as 19 percent of respondents believe it is better organized than previous efforts; 34 percent say his transition is about the same. Dropp notes “many of the initial transition picks, including Reince Priebus, Steve Bannon, and Jeff Sessions are still largely unknown to Americans.” The survey found more than half of respondents had never heard of, or had no opinion, on Priebus (Trump’s choice for chief of staff) chief strategist Bannon, or Alabama Sen. Sessions, his pick for attorney general. Nevertheless, about a third of voters called Priebus a “strong choice,” as opposed to 27 percent who say it was “weak.” Two in 10 feel Bannon was a strong choice; 34 percent called it weak. The POLITICO/Morning Consult poll contacted 1,885 registered voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent. Thirty-three percent of those surveyed self-identify as Democrats, 32 percent independents, and 33 percent Republicans.
Donald Trump considering woman, openly gay man for leadership position
President-elect Donald Trump is considering a woman and an openly gay man to fill major positions in his administration, history-making moves that would inject diversity into a Trump team. The incoming president is considering Richard Grenell as United States ambassador to the United Nations. If picked and ultimately confirmed by the Senate, he would be the first openly gay person to fill a Cabinet-level foreign policy post. Grenell previously served as U.S. spokesman at the U.N. under former President George W. Bush‘s administration. At the same time, Trump is weighing whether to select the first woman to serve as chairman of the Republican National Committee. On his short list of prospective chairs: Michigan GOP chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel, the former sister-in-law of Trump critic and 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney. “I’ll be interested in whatever Mr. Trump wants,” McDaniel told The Associated Press on Monday, adding that she was planning to seek the Michigan GOP chairmanship again. Appointing a woman to the top tier of his team – and the first female GOP chief – would appear to be an effort to begin to mend ties with women, who he antagonized frequently during the campaign. The appointment of Grenell could begin to ease concerns by the gay community about Vice President-elect Mike Pence’s positions on same-sex marriage during his time as Indiana governor. The personnel moves under consideration were confirmed by people with direct knowledge of Trump’s thinking who were not authorized to publicly disclose private discussions. They stressed that the decisions are not final. Internal deliberations about staffing come a day after Trump made overtures to warring Republican circles by appointing RNC Chairman Reince Priebus as his White House chief of staff and Breitbart News executive Stephen Bannon as chief strategist and senior counselor. The two men had made up the president-elect’s chief of staff shortlist, and while Priebus received that job, Bannon is expected to wield significant clout. Trump gave top billing to the former media executive, who led a website that appealed to the so-called “alt-right” – a movement often associated with efforts on the far right to preserve “white identity,” oppose multiculturalism and defend “Western values.” Priebus on Monday defended the media mogul, saying the two made an effective pair as they steered Trump past Democrat Hillary Clinton and toward the presidency. He sought to distance Bannon from the incendiary headlines on his website, saying they were written by unspecified others. “Together, we’ve been able to manage a lot of the decision making in regard to the campaign,” Priebus told NBC’s “Today.” ”It’s worked very, very well.” Trump’s hires were, at first glance, contradictory, though they fit a pattern of the celebrity businessman creating a veritable Rorschach test that allowed his supporters to see what they wanted. Priebus, who lashed the RNC to Trump this summer despite some intraparty objections, is a GOP operative with deep expertise of the Washington establishment that Trump has vowed to shake up. He has close ties to House Speaker Paul Ryan, a fellow Wisconsinite. Bannon, meanwhile, helped transform the Breitbart News site into the leading mouthpiece of the party’s anti-establishment wing, which helped fuel the businessman’s political rise. Ryan has been one of his most frequent targets. Neither Priebus nor Bannon brings policy experience to the White House. Chiefs of staff in particular play a significant role in policymaking, serving as a liaison to Cabinet agencies and deciding what information makes it to the president’s desk. They’re often one of the last people in the room with the president as major decisions are made. In announcing the appointments, Trump said Priebus and Bannon would work as “equal partners” – effectively creating two power centers in the West Wing. The arrangement is risky and could leave ambiguity over who makes final decisions. Trump has long encouraged rivalries, both in business and in his presidential campaign. He cycled through three campaign managers during his White House run, creating a web of competing alliances among staffers. Priebus is a traditional choice, one meant as an olive branch to the Republicans who control both houses of Congress as Trump looks to pass his legislative agenda. The Bannon pick, however, is controversial. Bannon, who became campaign CEO in August, pushed Trump to adopt more populist rhetoric and paint rival Hillary Clinton as part of a global conspiracy made up of the political, financial and media elite, bankers bent on oppressing the country’s working people – a message that carried Trump to the White House but to some, carried anti-Semitic undertones. An ex-wife of Bannon said he expressed fear of Jews when the two battled over sending their daughters to private school nearly a decade ago, according to court papers reviewed this summer by The Associated Press. In a sworn court declaration following their divorce, Mary Louise Piccard said her ex-husband had objected to sending their twin daughters to an elite Los Angeles academy because he “didn’t want the girls going to school with Jews.” A spokeswoman for Bannon denied he made those statements. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus chosen as Donald Trump’s WH chief of staff
In the year of the outsider, Reince Priebus was the face of the Republican establishment. Yet the Republican National Committee chairman would come to earn the trust and confidence of President-elect Donald Trump, who on Sunday named Priebus as his chief of staff, along with flame-throwing media executive Stephen Bannon as his chief strategist. The position puts Priebus at the power center of the new Trump administration. The 44-year-old Wisconsin political operative will help guard access to the president-elect, guide policy and political decisions, and if past practice holds true, will often be, along with Bannon, the last person Trump consults before making major decisions. Priebus has no governing experience in Washington. Yet his extraordinary ability to build and maintain relationships with his party’s power brokers and grassroots sets him apart from other prospective chiefs of staff. The affable and slow-talking Priebus maintains a particularly close relationship with House Speaker Paul Ryan, who is also from Wisconsin. At the same time, Priebus may have been almost as popular among the Republican National Committee’s 168 members, who represent many different factions of the GOP and come from every state in the nation. Trump’s new chief of staff and the House speaker met in the late 1990s when Priebus was a party activist in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, and Ryan was running for Congress. Priebus eventually became the party chairman of Kenosha County, the First District (the speaker’s district) and then Wisconsin party chairman. He’s been a friend and adviser to Ryan all these many years. Priebus was already the longest serving chairman in party history, having worked in that role since January 2011, but he easily could have been re-elected early next year had he wanted to seek another term. More than anything, he served as the chief fundraiser for the Republican National Committee, a job he did very well. He used the tens of millions of dollars he helped raise to create a nationwide voter outreach operation that fueled Trump’s stunning victory. Still, his status as a party insider caught the attention of Trump supporters such as tea party leader Jenny Beth Martin. She warned on Saturday that, “No Washington insider, regardless of who it is, should serve as President Trump’s chief of staff.” “It’s time to drain the swamp – not promote insiders beholden to the Washington establishment who helped create it,” she said. Priebus’ ability to earn Trump’s trust and confidence ultimately outweighed any political concerns. He was perhaps the only major establishment leader to stand with Trump over the campaign’s final weeks as much of the political world predicted the Republican nominee would lose the election. Priebus became Trump’s regular traveling companion and confidant. He was optimistic until the very end. “I don’t buy this conventional wisdom that somehow or other, things are bad. I think things are going well,” he told The Associated Press a few days before the election. Priebus, a big Green Bay Packers fan, likes to talk sports, he plays the piano and is quick to poke fun at himself. His easygoing personality, self-deprecating humor and lack of knowledge of the legislative process, mark a particularly sharp contrast with President Barack Obama‘s first chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. He married his high school sweetheart, Sally. They have two school-age children. Priebus “gets along with pretty much everybody,” said Lanhee Chen, a former top adviser to the GOP’s 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Chen called the pick “a terrific decision.” ”I think it reflects an understanding that, first of all, you have to have someone who understands the politics of Washington,” he said. Priebus has long favored a “big-tent” political philosophy that encourages the GOP to adopt a more welcoming and inclusive tone. Back in December, he condemned Trump’s plan to ban Muslim immigrants in December. “I think it’s the party for everybody. It’s for everyone,” Priebus told the AP days before Trump’s victory. “That the message that we’re trying to get out across the country, which is it doesn’t matter what the color of your skin is, what your faith is, what gender you are, or what age you are. This is a party of freedom, opportunity and equality. That’s what our party is.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Donald Trump, GOP paying consultant dogged by voter fraud charges
Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee have paid at least $1.8 million to a political operative whose roster of companies include several that have been repeatedly investigated for voter registration fraud, even as Trump has complained that the election is rigged against him. Three employees of Strategic Allied Consulting, a firm owned by conservative operative Nathan Sproul, pleaded guilty in Florida four years ago to felony charges related to altering and destroying scores of voter registration forms. There were no formal actions against the firm. Yet recent federal campaign finance reports reviewed by The Associated Press show Sproul is now back on the RNC’s payroll, this time with a firm named Lincoln Strategy Group, a renamed version of his former firm Sproul & Associates, an Arizona-based firm that was investigated for alleged voter registration misconduct in Nevada and Oregon. Although Sproul was never charged in the 2012 Florida case, GOP officials and Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign considered the charges against his employees alone serious enough to fire his company in 2012. The chairman of the RNC said this week he didn’t know Sproul’s firm has been rehired. Neither the Republican Party nor the Trump campaign would discuss the specifics of the work Sproul or the firm is doing and in what states. “We have zero tolerance for any threat to the integrity of elections,” Sean Spicer, spokesman for the Republican National Committee, told the AP in September 2012. “When we were informed of an alleged incident we immediately cut all ties to the company.” The RNC paid Sproul’s company a total of $1.2 million in October for get-out-the-vote efforts. Records show Donald J. Trump For President, Inc., paid another $600,000 to Lincoln Strategy on Oct. 27. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said he didn’t know his organization was still doing business with Sproul. RNC spokeswoman Lindsay Walters declined to provide specific details about Sproul’s current work for the party. In past years, RNC’s full spending with Sproul’s firms wasn’t disclosed in campaign finance reports until after the election. “This is a coordinated expenditure with the campaign,” Walters said, referring to the practice of political parties working with campaigns to raise and spend money. “Similar to 2012, coordinated expenditure decisions are joint decisions, the RNC does not have sole decision authority.” Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said, “This is a firm that we work with to execute door knocking.” Sproul, 44, said in a statement Friday that his companies had been “cleared of any and all wrongdoing,” and that any past accusations against his firms had been “utterly discredited.” “Lincoln Strategy upholds the strictest anti-fraud standards,” Sproul said. “Because of our strict standards, our company immediately refers people to law enforcement and election officials when there is any indication of improper activity.” In the 2012 Florida case, three employees of Sproul’s firm pleaded guilty to forging voter registrations, saying their supervisors had demanded it. But after a two-year investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said it found no evidence that Sproul’s firm specifically directed its employees to turn in the faked forms. Sproul has said the firm employed about 2,000 people. A search of online help-wanted ads shows Lincoln Strategy Group is now hiring in North Carolina, Colorado, Missouri and other swing states, offering “Great Pay!” to those available to go door-to-door to canvass voters for conservative causes. “Make America Great Again $20/HR Canvassing,” reads a recent ad posted on Craigslist in Raleigh, North Carolina, offering full-time and part-time jobs through Election Day. A veteran Republican operative from Arizona, Sproul has worked closely with dozens of state and national GOP campaigns, specializing in organizing voter registration drives and outreach efforts targeting evangelical Christians and social conservatives. He told AP his companies have employed more than 10,000 grassroots campaign workers over the last decade. Operating under numerous corporate names, Sproul’s firms also have a history of allegations of voter registration fraud. In a 2012 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Sproul acknowledged he set up multiple companies at the RNC’s request, because the Republican Party wanted to obscure its ties to what he called baseless allegations of his firms. In California, Oregon, Nevada and Florida, Sproul’s workers were sometimes investigated on suspicion of forging signatures, destroying Democratic voter registrations or changing the addresses of legitimately registered voters without their consent, according to former employees, state investigations and news reports. Workers said they were paid for collecting only Republican registrations, providing no incentive to turn in those from Democrats. There was never a formal state legal action against his firms. In an FBI interview related to a 2012 investigation of illegal campaign coordination in Arizona, however, Sproul acknowledged a pattern of law-breaking involving dozens of people hired by his firms, according to a transcript reviewed by the AP. The number of his employees who have been referred to prosecutors for possible criminal activities over the years “is closer to 100 than it is to zero,” he told the FBI agent, according to the transcript. The Federal Election Commission has also found “there is reason to believe” Sproul violated election law by spearheading a Republican effort to get Ralph Nader on Arizona’s ballot in 2004, according to a public FEC letter to Sproul. The commission ultimately dropped the matter without imposing any punishment. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
