Trump Names Two Loyalists to Key Administration Posts

Over the weekend, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus was named White Chief of Staff.

Serving as a presidential assistant and gatekeeper, Priebus will manage Trump’s schedule, decide who sees him, select and supervise White House staff, manage information for Trump, protect his interests, advise him on various issues and deal with Congress and other executive branch members.

In 1946, the position of assistant to the president was established. In 1953, Dwight Eisenhower appointed former congressman/New Hampshire governor Sherman Adams as White House Chief of Staff.

Jack Kennedy eschewed the designation, relying instead on a special assistant/appointments secretary. Lyndon Johnson operated the same way.

Earlier well-known chiefs of staff included Nixon’s Bob Haldeman and Alexander Haig (later Reagan’s defense secretary) Gerald Ford’s Dick Cheney (later GW Bush’s vice president), Ford’s Donald Rumsfeld (later GW Bush’s defense secretary), Bill Clinton’s John Podesta (later Hillary’s campaign chairman), GW Bush’s Andrew Card, and Obama’s Rahm Emanuel (current Chicago mayor).

Priebus is an establishment figure, a GOP insider, a practicing attorney, earlier involved in litigation and corporate issues.

Trump campaign chairman Stephen Bannon was named chief administration strategist and senior counselor.

He’s an influential alt-right movement member, Harvard MBA, former naval officer, Goldman Sachs investment banker and co-founder of Bannon & Co., a boutique investment banking firm specializing in media mergers and acquisitions.

Later he became a Hollywood executive film producer, then a Film, Inc. partner, a film and television management company.

From 2007 – 2011, he was chairman and CEO of Affinity Media before becoming executive chairman of Breitbart News in March 2012.

He calls himself an anti-establishment conservative, “particularly ‘anti-‘ the permanent political class.” He and Priebus will serve as “equal partners,” Trump saying:

“Steve and Reince are highly qualified leaders who worked well together on our campaign and led us to a historic victory. Now I will have them both with me in the White House as we work to make America great again.”