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In the latest
example of how much Trump values personal loyalty, the
billionaire businessman has effectively designated
Representative Chris Collins to be the White House transition
team's congressional liaison.
Collins, 66, has been in Congress less than four years. He has
no House leadership role. He chairs no committees. He was
previously county executive for Erie County, New York.
But Collins was the first lawmaker on Capitol Hill to endorse
Trump's presidential bid. He co-chaired Trump's U.S. House
Leadership Committee during the campaign.
Collins said Ryan, the speaker of the House of Representatives,
announced the news about his role to fellow Republicans at a
Tuesday caucus meeting. Ryan's office had no immediate comment.
Collins said he suggested the role to Trump the day after the
Nov. 8 elections. "I said I'm going to stay in Congress. But I
think I can be a bit of a liaison, if you will, of members, kind
of making sure the administration knows exactly what's going
on,” he told reporters.
Trump later mentioned the idea to Ryan, who asked Collins to do
the job, according to Collins.
Collins seconded Ryan's renomination to the speakership on
Tuesday, calling the gesture "a sign of Trump's support for Mr.
Ryan".
Analysts called the move unusual. "A new president generally
relies on the leadership," said Norman Ornstein of the American
Enterprise Institute. "But it's not a role with a great deal of
power and it's not the same as being a conduit once Trump is
president and working on policy."
Collins' official role is to serve as a conduit to the
transition team for lawmakers who want to convey concerns or
ideas for legislation and staffing.
An aide said Collins has not participated in legislative
discussions between House and Senate Republican leaders and the
Trump team.
Ryan told reporters on Tuesday that he and Trump are "on the
same page, we're working hand in glove.”
But the two have not always seen eye to eye. Ryan was slow to
endorse Trump for president and once described his comments
about a judge of Mexican heritage as "the textbook definition of
racism". Trump has slammed Ryan as "a very weak and ineffective
leader."
(Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and David Gregorio)
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