|
After months of
bitter battling, Trump's Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, has
a commanding lead in the race to win the Electoral College and
claim the U.S. presidency on Nov. 8, according to the latest
Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project results released on
Saturday, which mirror other national polls.
People working on Trump's White House transition, which is led
by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, have been asked by Trump
to narrow down those efforts and refocus on the race, the
sources, who asked not to be identified, said Tuesday.
They have, as a result, largely set aside efforts to identify
candidates for key Cabinet positions, but are continuing work to
fill lower-level jobs, such as Securities and Exchange
Commission general counsel, that would allow Trump to begin
basic work on his agenda if he won on Nov. 8, without worrying
about winning political battles first.
Members of the transition team are also avoiding providing Trump
with updates on the transition work to allow him and the
campaign to focus the core of its efforts on improving his
chances of winning the election, the sources said.
Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
The sources did not say when Trump asked his campaign to reduce
its transition work. But one of the two sources said that
Christie has spent twice as much time helping Trump prepare for
the three presidential debates, which occurred between Sept. 26
and Oct. 19, as he had on the transition work.
A spokesman for Christie declined to comment.
A third source familiar with the campaign, who also asked not to
be named, said a senior Trump official has been contacting Wall
Street tycoons and other wealthy Republicans for recommendations
on lower-level positions.
That source said the Trump team has opened up its hiring search
far beyond his core group of supporters and is even willing to
consider people who have criticized the brash New York
businessman.
(Reporting by Emily Flitter; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
