Vice President-elect Mike Pence will take over the job of leading the Donald Trump administration's White House transition, the New York Times reported on Friday.
Pence takes the position from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose standing within President-elect Trump's team has reportedly "been in question" after two of his aides were convicted last week for their roles in the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal. Pence, the current governor of Indiana, formerly represented the state in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Trump told advisers he wanted to make use of Pence's Washington connections to help the process.
According to the Times, the "surprise nature" of Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton made speed a more critical element of the transition process.
Christie will serve as a vice-chair in the transition, along with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.
Speculation is growing about who will earn coveted Cabinet positions within the Trump administration:
Mr. Trump’s administration is being assembled behind the scenes. But like much else in the nation’s capital, little stays secret for long.
The list of names being mentioned as possibilities for crucial posts in Mr. Trump’s cabinet is growing by the hour, giving official Washington what it craves most: a never-ending parlor game as speculation grows about who might actually get the nod.
A big revelation may come soon, according to Mr. Trump himself, who took to Twitter on Friday morning with some news. "Busy day planned in New York," the president-elect said. "Will soon be making some very important decisions on the people who will be running our government."
Trump and President Obama met at the White House on Thursday to discuss the transfer of power. The two fierce political enemies spoke privately for more than an hour and then made brief remarks in front of reporters.
Obama, who campaigned aggressively against Trump and consistently said the Republican nominee was unfit to become president, said they had an "excellent conversation" and pledged to work with him to ensure a smooth transition. Trump, who questioned whether Obama was a natural-born U.S. citizen for years, said it was a "great honor" to be with Obama and that he would look to him for advice in the future.