Trump Transition Team

The Transition Team is also being investigated as unlawfully undisclosed Russian contacts emerged.  Read about these on The Meetings page

Erik Prince, founder of private military company Blackwater, and sister to unsharpened pencil Betsy DeVos, met several times with top Donald Trump aides before and after the election, Bloomberg reports. Prince advised the transition team on anti-terrorism policy, intelligence agency restructuring, and staff appointments. In his own words, Prince’s advisory role was unofficial but “significant.”

Earlier in April, Prince made headlines for arranging a secret January meeting [January 11, 2017 with Sergey Kislyak] with a senior Kremlin official in the Seychelles islands, an alleged attempt to establish a private backchannel for U.S.-Russian diplomacy. Prince, who donated $250,000 post-national convention to Trump’s presidential campaign, the national party, and a pro-Trump super PAC, told Washington Post that the meeting, which is being investigated by the FBI as part of a probe into Russian election interference, “had nothing to do with President Trump.”

Sources said Prince’s main point of contact with the Trump camp was former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who was dismissed for illegally discussing sanctions with Russia before inauguration. Prince also reportedly spent a train ride in November critiquing the intelligence community with Kellyanne Conway and current National Security Council member Kevin Harrington. Sure sounds like someone who played some role in the transition, if not directly served it as a shadow diplomat.” DeathandTaxesMag.com

Sources said Prince’s main point of contact with the Trump camp was former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who was dismissed for illegally discussing sanctions with Russia before inauguration. Prince also reportedly spent a train ride in November critiquing the intelligence community with Kellyanne Conway and current National Security Council member Kevin Harrington. Sure sounds like someone who played some role in the transition, if not directly served it as a shadow diplomat.” DeathandTaxesMag.com

Sergey Kislyak in the Seychelles Islands to establish a backchannel for US-Russian diplomacy founder of private military company Blackwater, and sister to unsharpened pencil Betsy DeVos, met several times with top Donald Trump aides before and after the election, Bloomberg reports. Prince advised the transition team on anti-terrorism policy, intelligence agency restructuring, and staff appointments. In his own words, Prince’s advisory role was unofficial but “significant.”

Earlier in April, Prince made headlines for arranging a secret January meeting (January 11, 2016 with Sergey Kislyak) with a senior Kremlin official in the Seychelles islands, an alleged attempt to establish a private backchannel for U.S.-Russian diplomacy. Prince, who donated $250,000 post-national convention to Trump’s presidential campaign, the national party, and a pro-Trump super PAC, told Washington Post that the meeting, which is being investigated by the FBI as part of a probe into Russian election interference, “had nothing to do with President Trump.”

Sources said Prince’s main point of contact with the Trump camp was former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who was dismissed for illegally discussing sanctions with Russia before inauguration. Prince also reportedly spent a train ride in November critiquing the intelligence community with Kellyanne Conway and current National Security Council member Kevin Harrington. Sure sounds like someone who played some role in the transition, if not directly served it as a shadow diplomat.” DeathandTaxesMag.com

“During the campaign, Prince donated $100,000 to the Trump Victory Committee, which supported both Trump’s election bid and the Republican Party. Jeremy Scahill, a journalist who has long covered Prince, recently wrote that the businessman is advising the Trump Administration. Just four days before the election, Prince gave an interview to Breitbart radio, part of the media empire that Bannon used to run, in which Prince pushed an unfounded theory that the NYPD had been about to announce arrest warrants in the Clinton investigation but was blocked by the Justice Department, and that Hillary Clinton had been to a “sex island” with a convicted pedophile “at least six times.” Prince’s bizarre claims were prominently displayed on Breitbart’s website leading up to the election and were widely distributed on right wing websites.” Buzzfeed

Andy Beal Donor and Billionaire banker on Trump’s Economic Advisory Council Dallas News

Bud McFarlane security consultant, picked KT McFarland as his protege.

BALLOTPEDIA

Transition team leadership
Name Transition team role Notable experience Source
Rick Dearborn Executive director Chief of staff to Sen. Jeff Sessions Politico
Mike Pence Chair Vice president-elect The New York Times
Michael Flynn. Vice chair Retired U.S. Army general The New York Times
Rudy Giuliani Vice chair Former mayor of NYC The New York Times
Chris Christie Vice chair Governor of New Jersey The New York Times
Jeff Sessions Vice chair U.S. Senator from Alabama Fox News
Ben Carson Vice chair Former pediatric neurosurgeon Politico
Marsha Blackburn Vice chair U.S. Representative from Tennessee Politico
Mary Fallin Vice chair Gov. of Oklahoma Politico
Cynthia Lummis Vice chair U.S. Representative from Wyoming Politico
K.T. McFarland Vice chair Deputy National Security Advisor Politico
Cathy McMorris Rodgers Vice chair U.S. Representative from Washington Politico
Tim Scott Vice chair U.S. Senator from South Caorlina Politico
Tom Reed Vice chair U.S. Representative from New York Politico

Executive committee

Transition team executive committee
Name Transition team role Notable experience Source
Lou Barletta Executive committee member U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania Fox News
Pam Bondi Executive committee member Florida Attorney General Fox News
Chris Collins Executive committee member U.S. Representative from New York Fox News
Jared Kushner Executive committee member Trump son-in-law Fox News
Tom Marino Executive committee member U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania Fox News
Rebekah Mercer Executive committee member Trump donor Fox News
Steven Mnuchin Executive committee member Former Goldman Sachs partner Fox News
Devin Nunes Executive committee member Chairman of the House intelligence committee Fox News
Anthony Scaramucci Executive committee member Founder of SkyBridge Capital Fox News
Peter Thiel Executive committee member Venture capitalist Fox News
Reince Priebus Executive committee member Republican National Committee Chairman Fox News
Steve Bannon Executive committee member Trump campaign CEO Fox News
Donald Trump Jr. Executive committee member Donald Trump’s son Fox News
Eric Trump Executive committee member Donald Trump’s son Fox News
Ivanka Trump Executive committee member Donald Trump’s daughter Fox News
Sean Duffy Executive committee member U.S. Representative from Wisconsin Politico
Trey Gowdy Executive committee member U.S. Representative from South Carolina Politico
Dennis Ross Executive committee member U.S. Representative from Florida Politico
Darrell Scott Executive committee member Pastor in Cleveland, Ohio Politico
Kiron Skinner Executive committee member Hoover Institution Research Fellow Politico
Amata Coleman Radewagen Executive committee member American Samoa delegate to U.S. House President-elect Donald Trump
Butch Anderson Executive committee member Dutchess County, New York, Sheriff President-elect Donald Trump
Safra Catz Executive committee member CEO of Oracle President-elect Donald Trump
Tom Dadey Executive committee member Chairman of Onondaga County (N.Y.) Republican Party President-elect Donald Trump
Nick Langworthy Executive committee member Chairman of Erie County (N.Y.) Republican Party President-elect Donald Trump
Omarosa Manigault Executive committee member Trump presidential campaign director of African American outreach President-elect Donald Trump
Mike McCormack Executive committee member Chairman of Dutchess County (N.Y.) Republican Party President-elect Donald Trump
Joe Mondello Executive committee member Chairman of Nassau County (N.Y.) Republican Party President-elect Donald Trump
John Sweeney Executive committee member Former U.S. Representative from New York President-elect Donald Trump

Agency Action Team

The Agency Action Team consisted of advisors who work in specific policy areas to vet and advise on potential administration choices for staff and cabinet positions.

Agency Action Team
Name Policy area Notable experience Source
Ron Nicol Director of agency action Politico
Defense
Name Policy area Notable experience Source
Keith Kellogg Defense action team leader Former Lt. Gen. U.S. Army Politico
Mira Ricardel Defense advisor Consultant for Federal Budget IQ Politico
Michael Meese VA advisor Politico
National security
Name Policy area Notable experience Source
Mike Rogers National security action team leader Politico
Jim Carafano State advisor Politico
Cindy Hayden Homeland security advisor Director of Altria Client Services Politico
Ron Burgess Intelligence advisor Politico
Kevin O’Connor Justice advisor Politico
Economic issues
Name Policy area Notable experience Source
Bill Walton Economic issues action team leader Politico
David Malpass Treasury advisor Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Politico
Ray Washburne Commerce advisor Trump Victory Committee vice chair Politico
Dan DiMicco U.S. Trade Representative advisor Former CEO of steel company Nucor Politico
Paul Atkins Independent financial agencies advisor CEO of advisory firm Patomak Global Partners Politico
Christine Toretti Small Business Administration advisor Politico
Jeff Eisenach Federal Communications Commission advisor Politico
Michael Korbey Social Security Administration advisor Politico
Domestic issues
Name Policy area Notable experience Source
Ken Blackwell Domestic issues action team leader Senior fellow at Family Research Council Politico
Myron Ebell Environmental Protection Agency advisor Director of Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute Politico
Steve Hart Labor advisor Chairman of Williams and Jensen, a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm Politico
Andrew Bremberg Health and Human Services advisor Policy advisor to Sen. Mitch McConnell Politico
Shirley Ybarra Department of Transportation advisor Politico
James F. Manning Education advisor Former Department of Education official Politico
Williamson Evers Education advisor Education research fellow at the Hoover Institution Politico
David Bernhardt Interior advisor Lobbyist with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck Politico
Management and budget
Name Policy area Notable experience Source
Ed Meese Management and budget issues action team leader Former Attorney General TalkingPointsMemo
Kay Cole James Office of Emergency Management advisor Former director of the Office of Personnel Management Politico
Paul Winfree Office of Management and Budget advisor Director of the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Research at the Heritage Foundation Politico
Linda Springer Office of Management and Budget advisor Former director of Office of Personnel Management Politico
Agency transformation and innovation
Name Policy area Notable experience Source
Beth Kaufman Agency transformation and innovation team leader Politico
Jonathan Beck Agency transformation and innovation team leader Politico

Agency Landing Teams

Landing teams were made up of advisors who met with existing government agency operatives to begin receiving briefings for transition.

Agency Landing Teams
Department of Defense
Name Notable experience Source
Keith Kellogg Former Lt. Gen. U.S. Army President-Elect Donald Trump
Mira Ricardel Consultant for Federal Budget IQ President-Elect Donald Trump
Thomas Carter Cubic Corporation President-Elect Donald Trump
Michael Duffey Republican Party of Wisconsin President-Elect Donald Trump
William Hartzog Burdeshaw Associates President-Elect Donald Trump
Justin Johnson Heritage Foundation President-Elect Donald Trump
Earl Matthews U.S. Army President-Elect Donald Trump
Bert Mizusawa Major General in U.S. Army Reserve President-Elect Donald Trump
Sergio de la Pena de la Pena Consulting President-Elect Donald Trump
Greg Gardner NETApp President-Elect Donald Trump
Department of State
Name Notable experience Source
Erin Walsh Goldman Sachs President-Elect Donald Trump
Jackie Wolcott U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom President-Elect Donald Trump
Ashley Bell Republican National Committee President-Elect Donald Trump
Charles Glazer Fieldpoint Private President-Elect Donald Trump
Christopher Burnham Cambridge Global Capital President-Elect Donald Trump
Stephen Groves Heritage Foundation President-Elect Donald Trump
National Security Council
Name Notable experience Source
Marshall Billingslea Deloitte President-Elect Donald Trump
Mark Scraba 29K Leaders President-Elect Donald Trump
Thomas Higgins First Data President-Elect Donald Trump
Sven Kramer Former Department of Defense employee President-Elect Donald Trump
Tera Dahl Trump for America, Inc. President-Elect Donald Trump
Kiron Skinner Carnegie Mellon University President-Elect Donald Trump
Department of Health and Human Services
Name Notable experience Source
Nina Owcharenko Heritage Foundation Politico
Eric Hargan Former HHS chief operating officer Politico
Scott Gottlieb Former FDA deputy commissioner for medical and scientific affairs Politico
Department of Justice
Name Notable experience Source
Brian Benczkowski Kirkland & Ellis LLP President-Elect Donald Trump
Zina Bash Doctors’ Hospital at Renaissance President-Elect Donald Trump
Greg Katsas Jones Day President-Elect Donald Trump
James Burnham Jones Day President-Elect Donald Trump
William Cleveland City of Alexandria Public Schools President-Elect Donald Trump
J. Patrick Rowan McGuireWoods LLP President-Elect Donald Trump
Jessie Liu Morrison and Foerster LLP President-Elect Donald Trump
Ronald Tenpas Morgan, Lewis and Bockius LLP President-Elect Donald Trump
Department of Commerce
Name Notable experience Source
Ray Washburne Charter Holdings President-Elect Donald Trump
David Bohigian Pluribus Ventures President-Elect Donald Trump
Joan Maginnis Retired, U.S. Department of Commerce President-Elect Donald Trump
Social Security Administration
Name Notable experience Source
Tom Leppert Retired, Kaplan, Inc. President-Elect Donald Trump
Department of the Treasury
Name Notable experience Source
William Walton Rappahannock Ventures LLC President-Elect Donald Trump
Curtis Dubay Heritage Foundation President-Elect Donald Trump
Judy Shelton Self-employed economist President-Elect Donald Trump
Mauricio Claver-Carone Cuba Democracy Advocates President-Elect Donald Trump
Federal Communications Commission
Name Notable experience Source
Jeff Eisenach NERA Economic Consulting President-Elect Donald Trump
Mark Jamison University of Florida President-Elect Donald Trump
Small Business Administration
Name Notable experience Source
Mary Ann Bradfield Accelerated Development and Support Corporation President-Elect Donald Trump
U.S. Trade Representative
Name Notable experience Source
Dan DiMicco Retired, Nucor Corp. President-Elect Donald Trump
Robert Lighthizer Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, and Flom LLP President-Elect Donald Trump

Policy Implementation Team

Policy Implementation Team
Name Transition team role Notable experience Source
Ado Machida Policy implementation team leader Former domestic policy aide for Vice President Dick Cheney Politico
Andrew Bremberg Executive legal action team leader Policy advisor to Sen. Mitch McConnell NPR
Carlos Diaz-Rosillo Executive authority advisor Harvard University lecturer Politico
Danielle Cutrona Immigration reform and building the wall advisor Counsel to Sen. Jeff Sessions Politico
Paula Stannard Healthcare reform advisor Former counsel at Department of Health and Human Services Politico
Bert Mizusawa Defense and national security advisor Major General in U.S. Army Reserve Politico
Jim Carter Tax reform advisor In-house lobbyist for Emerson Politico
Bill Chatfield VA reform advisor Politico
Rob Gordon Regulatory reform advisor Counsel for House Natural Resources Committee Politico
Gerard Robinson Education advisor Education policy fellow at American Enterprise Institute Politico
Martin Whitmer Transportation and infrastructure advisor Lobbyist at Whitmer and Worrall Politico
Ken Klukowski Protecting constitutional rights advisor Senior counsel at First Liberty Institute Politico

Leadership staff

Leadership staff
Name Transition team role Source
Nick Ayers Senior advisor, Vice president-elect Politico
Kellyanne Conway Senior advisor Politico
David Bossie Deputy executive director Politico
Aaron Chang Advance lead Politico
Steven Cheung Director of rapid response Politico
A.J. Delgado Senior advisor Politico
Jeff DeWit Special advisor for operations Politico
Jessica Ditto Deputy communications director Politico
George Gigicos Director of advance Politico
Michael Glassner Special advisor for operations Politico
Stephanie Grisham Press director Politico
Hope Hicks National press secretary Politico
Donald McGahn General counsel Politico
Jason Miller Communications director Politico
Stephen Miller National policy director Politico
Katrina Pierson Senior advisor Politico
Josh Pitcock Senior advisor, Vice president-elect Politico
Daniel Scavino Director of social media Politico
Marc Short Senior advisor, Vice president-elect Politico
Sean Spicer Senior communications advisor Politico
Katie Walsh Senior advisor Politico
Bryan Lanza Deputy communications director President-elect Donald Trump

Other advisors and staff

Transition team advisors and staff
Name Transition team role Notable experience Source
William Hagerty Director of presidential appointments TalkingPointsMemo
John Rader Deputy director of presidential appointments Former aide to Sen. Bob Corker TalkingPointsMemo
Bill Palatucci General counsel Former aide to Gov. Chris Christie TalkingPointsMemo
Rob Collins Personnel Lobbyist with S-3 Group Politico
Sandra Luff Defense and national security Aide to Sen. Jeff Sessions, [Hired at FACEBOOK as VP of US Public Policy] Politico
Rolf Lundberg Trade reform Senior vice president at U.S. Chamber of Commerce Politico
Mike Ference Energy independence Lobbyist with S-3 Group Politico
Brian Johnson Financial services Counsel for House Financial Services Committee Politico
Townsend McNitt Education Former deputy chief of staff at Department of Education Politico
Richard Bagger Former aide to Gov. Chris Christie TalkingPointsMemo
Kris Kobach Immigration advisor Kansas Secretary of State TalkingPointsMemo
Ed Feulner Former president of the Heritage Foundation TalkingPointsMemo
Jamie Burke White House liaison to Health and Human Services Politico
Alan Cobb Trump campaign director of coalitions Politico

Resignations, demotions, and terminations

See also: Donald Trump presidential transition team resignations, demotions, and terminations

Resignations

  • Mike Rogers, former House Intelligence Committee Chair: Rogers resigned from the transition team on November 15, 2016. He helped to guide the transition’s work in national security issues.[1]
  • Michael Catanzaro, lobbyist at CGCN: Catanzaro resigned from the transition team on November 21, 2016, after the incoming administration required lobbyists to terminate all existing lobbying contracts.[2] Catanzaro had been an energy independence advisor.[3]
  • Michael Torrey, owner of Michael Torrey Associates: Torrey resigned from the transition team on November 21, 2016, after the incoming administration required lobbyists to terminate all existing lobbying contracts.[2] He had been an agriculture advisor.[4]
  • Michael McKenna, lobbyist with MWR Strategies: McKenna resigned from the transition team on November 21, 2016, after the incoming administration required lobbyists to terminate all existing lobbying contracts.[2] He had been an energy advisor.[4]

Demotions

  • Chris Christie: Christie was demoted from his position as chair on November 11, 2016, after Vice President Mike Pence took over control of the transition, according to The New York Times.[5]
  • Richard Bagger: Bagger, Christie’s former chief of staff, had been leading the transition team prior to Trump’s election in November 2016.[6]
  • Bill Palatucci: Palatucci was the general counsel for the transition team but saw his role reduced in November 2016 when Christie was demoted. Palatucci is a former law partner of Christie.[6]

Terminations

  • Matthew Freedman: Freedman had been advising the transition team on national security issues before being fired as part of what The New York Times called “a purge orchestrated by Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and close adviser.”[7]
  • Michael Flynn Jr.: Flynn Jr., the son of retired Army General Michael Flynn, was involved in early transition efforts. According to transition spokesman Jason Miller, “The younger Michael Flynn was helping his father with some administration and scheduling duties early on in the transition process and he is no longer involved with transition efforts.”[8]