Inside the jockeying for Trump administration jobs

Trump has moved quickly to identify top officials for his next administration, but it hasn't all gone smoothly.

President-elect Donald Trump is building his second administration at a breakneck speed, announcing his choices for nearly all of the roughly two dozen top-tier nominations, including Cabinet posts, at earlier dates than he did when starting his first term. It’s a sign not only that Trump’s team has more experience than it did in 2016, but also that it has a much more defined sense of what it wants: loyalty.

The expedited pace, however, has not come without setbacks and intrigue. Trump has long skipped the careful vetting of the backgrounds and financial records of potential picks that most incoming administrations undertake. This approach has led to surprise controversies and unexpected bumps for some of his more contentious choices. 

Trump has “botched up the nomination process pretty bad,” a Republican senator said, adding, “They clearly aren’t vetting these people.” 

There’s also extensive jockeying between influential voices like Trump’s sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and other transition staffers, including chief of staff Susie Wiles.

“It’s like ‘Game of Thrones’ over there. I think Don Jr. has been trying to do things at times. It’s like Susie will have a meeting and then Don Jr. will say something else," a transition source said, who said they were not implying there's any tension between the two, just that there are big personalities on the team. "Some of it has been kind of weird.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/jockeying-trump-administration-jobs-rcna182901

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