There’s been a long history of successful political transitions between presidential administrations. But with the latest election of Donald Trump, historians are questioning how a cabinet will coalesce under a Washington outsider.
One of the first moves by President Barack Obama during the start of his administration was to nominate his biggest political rival Hillary Clinton – a candidate who knew Washington politics well – as Secretary of State in his cabinet. President George W. Bush relied on his chief-of-staff to assist in formulating a cabinet.
Trump announced Friday afternoon that Vice President-elect Mike Pence will take over the transition efforts – unseating New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. But it still isn’t clear which path the Trump administration will go down.
Ambassador Chase Untermeyer, a member of the decision-making team under President George W. Bush, says that Trump’s own decisions may not be strikingly different than his predecessors.
The challenge for President-Elect Trump is that he ran on a platform of “draining the swamp” of Washington politics, Untermeyer says. “It will be difficult to back that claim up if he goes on to nominate well-known Washington insiders such as the frequently mentioned former House Speaker Newt Gingrich or Gov. Chris Christie.”
Untermeyer says Trump cannot de-Washingtonize Washington.
“The people who for the most part are going to fill the jobs in his administration, just as they have in the past,” Untermeyer says, “are going to be Washington insiders.”
Post by George Economos.
