Donald Trump campaigned on “draining the swamp”.
Many insiders figured it was just campaign trail rhetoric.
And they were shocked when Trump’s transition team made a major announcement.
At the outset of the transition under New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, some lobbyists such as former Congressman Mike Rogers managed to sneak into the Trump transition effort.
Some questioned how this happened.
Trump quickly took action and fired Christie as head of the transition and installed Vice President-elect Mike Pence to the position.
Conservatives cheered as Pence’s first act was to purge all lobbyists from the Trump transition team.
Fox News reports:
“Lobbyists are being purged from official roles in President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team, sources told Fox News late Tuesday.
The move to get rid of lobbyists in key roles was one of the first decisions made by Vice President-elect Mike Pence in his role overseeing the construction of a Trump administration.
One source said the decision to remove the lobbyists “makes good on [Trump’s] vision of how he wants his government constructed.”
Tuesday evening, Pence formally signed a memorandum of understanding putting him in charge of the transition team. A similar document had been signed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who spent months running transition operations before his demotion last week…
…The group organized by Christie had featured a litany of lobbyists, former bureaucrats, academics and corporate lawyers. That caused consternation from Trump, who won cheers on the campaign trail for his repeated promises to “drain the swamp” in Washington…
…Among those who departed Trump’s transition team Tuesday was former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Christie recruit and a respected Republican voice on national security issues. The Wall Street Journal reported that Frank Gaffney, a former defense official in the Reagan administration, had been brought in to assist on national security issues, along with Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and former Rep. Pete Hoekstra.”
Christie has long been viewed with suspicion by conservatives.
As Governor of New Jersey, he was anti-gun and suspect on immigration.
Trump quickly removing him from the transition effort was a positive sign for conservatives.
Putting Pence at the head of the transition also reassured conservatives that Trump would stick with the team and campaign themes which won him the election.
Trump also blasted reports about lobbyists and other establishment figures being finalists for administration positions.
Very organized process taking place as I decide on Cabinet and many other positions. I am the only one who knows who the finalists are!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2016
Do you agree with the move by Trump’s team to remove lobbyists from the transition team?
Let us know what you think in the comment section.
