In the wake of the disastrous foreign policies of the Obama Administration and the messes they left behind in Egypt, Libya and the Middle East—not to mention the damaged relationships with Israel and Europe—President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for the next secretary of state will undoubtedly be his most important.
During Friday’s Presidential Transition Team daily press briefing, his communications team of Sean Spicer and Jason Miller gave absolutely no indication as to whether or not an appointment is imminent, but if past actions are an indicator, he may be very close to nominating former Boeing and Ford Motor Company CEO Alan Mulally. And the perfect opportunity to make the announcement would be during Friday evening’s USA Thank-You Tour rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Asked specifically if Mulally would be announced at the event, Miller refused to offer answer. Instead, he simply said he didn’t have anything to announce at the time. Recent Cabinet announcements have quickly followed meetings at Trump Tower, and none of the big names slated to meet with the president-elect next week are currently considered contenders for the Department of State.
Miller said the following conservatives would be meeting with Trump in Manhattan next week:
- Former Hewlett-Packard CEO and 2016 GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina: a potential candidate for a few positions, including Chair of the RNC
- U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.): a potential candidate for Secretary of Energy
- U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho: a potential candidate for Secretary of the Interior
- 2016 GOP presidential candidate former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum: a potential candidate for a few positions, including secretary of Veterans Affairs
As it stands at this writing, Trump still has the following Cabinet and Cabinet-level positions left to fill:
- Secretary of State
- Secretary of the Interior
- Secretary of Agriculture
- Secretary of Energy
- Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- Director of the Office of Management and Budget
- U.S. Trade Representative
- Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
For those keeping score at home, this is the breakdown of the 14 Cabinet-level nominees announced so far: seven are evangelicals, one is Catholic, one is Greek Orthodox and the remaining five have undisclosed religious leanings. So far, Trump has held 90 meetings with potential Cabinet-level nominees.
Spicer also noted the following points:
- National Security Adviser-Designate Michael Flynn and Deputy National Security Adviser-Designate KT McFarland recently met with Dr. Henry Kissinger regarding foreign policy and national security issues.
- Flynn and McFarland have now held more than a dozen meetings to discuss national security issues.
- The Trump “land team” has now grown to more than 200 staffers, with 37 more to be added Friday.
Miller also announced the following Sunday-morning talk show appearances from members of the transition team:
- Face the Nation (CBS)—senior adviser Kellyanne Conway will appear
- FOX News Sunday (FOX, FNC)—the president-elect will appear
- Meet the Press (NBC)—incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus will appear
- This Week (ABC)—Priebus will appear {eoa]
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