As Donald Trump’s White House begins to take shape, there are some out of left field candidates being thrown out as candidates for his staff. There’s a chance Linda McMahon could be the Secretary of Commerce, and Steve Bannon has secured a chief strategist and senior counselor role in the administration. Now, Trump has officially chosen Reince Priebus as his White House Chief of Staff. Bannon, founder of right wing news site Breitbart, was the other likely candidate for the role but Priebus has far more connections within the Republican Party and is very close with Paul Ryan. As The New York Times points out, the partnership with the Speaker of the House could lead to easier legislative wins at the start of Trump’s Presidency instead of an antagonistic relationship between the President and GOP.
Priebus being appointed to the role could be the tiniest of silver linings for Democrats though, as the GOP insider knows how to actually compromise and do what’s best for the party instead of slashing and burning political ties left and right in pursuit of “Making America Great Again.” On the other hand, that silver lining may be the thinnest of linings as one of Reince’s first promises after accepting the position was “to create an economy that works for everyone, secure our borders, repeal and replace Obamacare and destroy radical Islamic terrorism.” Not included in the statement was how repealing and replacing Obamacare meshes with an economy that works for everyone, but hey why start making sense now that Trump is officially the President-Elect?
The appointment also bears the stamp of approval from the Trump kids, as they didn’t want somebody too controversial in the position. If the next four years are just the Trump kids getting their way all the time like it’s an episode of My Super Sweet Sixteen, then this administration could be interesting indeed.
(via The New York Times)