Donald Trump's Transition Team Sees Purge, Giuliani's Business Ties a Conflict, Campaign Team's New Political Arm and More

Donald Trump's transition team already suffered a setback with the ouster last week of Chris Christie, who had been at the helm of the effort since May. But now, with the New Jersey governor cast aside, a new round of purges of Christie loyalists is underway.

Among the top advisers in the purge is former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, who abruptly resigned from the transition team after being assigned to lead the national security efforts. Sources close to Rogers — the former chair of the House Intelligence Committee who was expected by many to become the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency — said he had been the victim of a "Stalinesque purge."

Publicly, however, Rogers attempted to downplay the severity of the situation, saying it was only natural that members of Trump's campaign team would take over spots on the transition team.

"Our work will provide a strong foundation for the new transition team leadership as they move into the post-election phase, which naturally is incorporating the campaign team in New York who drove President-elect Trump to an incredible victory last Tuesday," Rogers said in the statement.

Top Stories

Key Figures Purged From Trump Transition Team: "The bloodletting in President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team that began with last week’s ouster of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie escalated Tuesday with new departures, particularly in the area of national security, as power consolidated within an ever-smaller group of top Trump loyalists." (The Washington Post)

Trump Team Talks of Setting Up Political Arm: "Donald Trump’s top advisers are discussing a plan to launch a new political organization outside the White House and the Republican Party to harness the energy that powered his populist candidacy, according to people familiar with talks. While the planning for such a group is still in its infancy, the idea is to create a structure akin to what President Barack Obama did after he won in 2008, when members of his campaign team launched Organizing for America." (Politico)

Rudolph Giuliani’s Business Ties Viewed as Red Flag for Secretary of State Job: "Rudolph W. Giuliani, facing a flood of questions about whether his business dealings should disqualify him from being named President-elect Donald J. Trump’s secretary of state, on Tuesday defended his lucrative 15 years in the private sector as a credential for the job." (The New York Times)

Trump’s Vast Web of Conflicts: A User’s Guide: "The Republican’s appointees will be running departments and agencies with direct ties to their boss’ businesses and wider political interests, from an IRS audit into his tax records to National Labor Relations Board enforcement of cases involving his hotel workers to the FBI’s investigation into the suspected Russian cyberespionage aimed at influencing an election that Trump just won." (Politico)

From the Twitterverse

Pushing back on reports that former Ambassador John Bolton and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani are leading for secretary of state:

Today's Numbers

• Trump has a $1 trillion infrastructure plan.
• Hillary Clinton’s lead in the popular vote passes 1 million.
• Snapchat's parent company files for $25 billion IPO.
• Tens of thousands of dead fish have been found floating in a canal in New York.

Quote of the Day

Interim DNC Chair Donna Brazile on CNN admonishing her for possibly sharing debate questions with Hillary Clinton's team:

“CNN never gave me a question,” she said talking about the debate questions. “I wish CNN had given me some other things, like the ability to defend myself rather than ripping me a new one.”

Allen McDuffee is a politics and policy reporter, investigative journalist, blogger and podcast host. He has written for The Atlantic, Wired and The Washington Post. Follow him on Twitter: @AllenMcDuffee

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Commons