Christie's Chances With Trump May Be Doomed: List of Grievances, Failures Reported

A list of grievances and failures have doomed Gov. Chris Christie's chances in the Trump administration, reports say. And an expansive New York Times report, in particular, outlined what will likely prevent the governor from ever getting a job in the new president's White House.

Christie already lost his job as transition chairman earlier this month after his work, and some of his appointments, drew criticism from people outside and inside President-elect Donald Trump's inner circle. Christie also met with Trump for about 20 minutes this week in what was viewed as one of the shortest transition meetings Trump has had.

But The New York Times said the problems with New Jersey's governor have gone way beyond his transition work. The Times identified the following issues cited by the Trump administration:

• Christie was supposed to campaign for Trump in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania before Election Day. But those plans changed when a federal jury on Nov. 4 convicted two of his ex-aides in the "Bridgegate" trial. So the governor spent much of the next few days publicly defending himself against damaging testimony from the trial rather than campaigning for the Republican nominee.
• Former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Trump’s children believed Christie had "gone off-message" after an “Access Hollywood” tape was released in which Trump made vulgar comments about women. The governor canceled Sunday show appearances then emerged on the radio the next week to call Trump’s comments “indefensible,” according to The Times.
• Spending on the Trump transition effort was higher than what the transition team of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, had spent, even though polls showed her winning and Trump's chances of capturing the presidency seemed small.
• People around Trump complained that Christie was using his transition chairman post to promote his own people, including his former chief of staff and his former law partner and one of his longtime supporters, Bob Grady, who had been recommended for several positions.

Read the full New York Times report here.

Other reports have spoken to Christie's struggles, saying people close to the governor have identified a "Stalinesque purge" that's taking place on Trump's transition team.

Read more: 'Stalinesque' Purge: Chris Christie People Dumped From Donald Trump Transition: Reports

Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, who had been tapped by the New Jersey governor to coordinate national security efforts, resigned from the transition team earlier this month, according to NBC News.

Christie is now a co-vice chairman, but the team’s new leadership also axed Christie’s former chief of staff, Richard Bagger, who had been helping manage the 16-member committee, and former Christie law partner William Palatucci, who served as the committee’s general counsel, according to Politico.

“Bagger and Palatucci worked behind the scenes for months to create a methodical operation that was less drama-filled than the New York-based campaign shop,” according to the Politico article. “They played a central role in hiring transition staff, developing an infrastructure, setting up policy- and agency-focused teams and culling [short lists] for top administration jobs.”

The Trump transition did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Christie and the top aides had been working for months to lay the groundwork for transition, but they found themselves amid an atmosphere of sniping and backbiting as Trump loyalists positioned themselves for key jobs, according to the reports.

Reports have also suggested the Trump transition team has significant influence from Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, the husband of his daughter Ivanka. Kushner's father, Charles, was prosecuted by Christie when the governor was U.S. Attorney for New Jersey a decade ago.

Patch file photo