The Trump Transition

by Newt Gingrich: The same media that misrepresented and lied about Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is now misrepresenting and lying about his presidential transition.

The press would have Americans believe that the project is in disarray because Vice President-elect Mike Pence has taken charge, replacing Governor Chris Christie, who shepherded the project through the campaign.

This should not be surprising to anyone, however. The President-elect and the Vice President-elect have finished campaigning, and it is natural that they shift their focus to governing. The immediate task of governing is the transition.

In naming his running mate to manage the effort, President-elect Trump follows the same path as George W. Bush, who put Dick Cheney in charge of the transition after winning in 2000.

The media also suggests, absurdly, that the transition is behind schedule because President-elect Trump has not yet announced his major cabinet picks. Yet, as Fox News reports, Trump appears set to name his key cabinet nominees earlier than most of his predecessors.

President Obama did not announce his first cabinet pick until three weeks after his election, and he announced most names more than a month after his election.

President George W. Bush did not announce his first cabinet pick until six weeks after his election. Neither did Bill Clinton. Nor Ronald Reagan.

On Wednesday I had the honor to meet with Vice President-elect Pence at the transition headquarters in Washington. We had a great conversation, and I can report that they are making real and steady progress, not just in selecting cabinet officials but also in developing a plan for the administration’s first 100 days and beyond.

And the Vice President-elect is the perfect person to oversee this effort. He has served as a member of the senior leadership team in Congress and as governor of Indiana—a position which required him to direct a similar, if much smaller, transition of executive power.

It was clear from our conversation that President-elect Trump is deeply engaged in the process—just as Americans would expect from a CEO who has taken a hands-on approach to running his international business empire.

I was encouraged by the seriousness and energy of the entire transition team. Americans should expect an administration ready to hit the ground running with aggressive reforms in January 2017—which is exactly what they voted for.
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Newt Gingrich is a former Georgia Congressman and Speaker of the U.S. House. He co-authored and was the chief architect of the "Contract with America" and a major leader in the Republican victory in the 1994 congressional elections. He is noted speaker and writer. The above commentary was shared via Gingrich Productions.

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