NEW YORK—President-elect Donald Trump returned to his perch high above Manhattan on Monday, meeting with former rivals and longtime allies a day after he indicated he had worked out agreements to fill major posts in his administration.
Trump, after spending the weekend receiving a parade of visitors at his golf course in New Jersey, was set to do the same at Trump Tower. Among his scheduled visitors: former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who ran against him in the Republican primary, longtime ally Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, and Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin.
“We’ve made a couple of deals,” Trump told reporters at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club on Sunday. He gave assurances that “incredible meetings” would be bringing “incredible people” into the government. “You'll be hearing about them soon.”
The president-elect apparently is working to get important Cabinet jobs settled before heading to Florida for Thanksgiving. Aides said Monday he will spend the holiday at his Mar-a-Lago estate. He is expected to fly there either Tuesday or Wednesday, while Vice president-elect Mike Pence will spend Thanksgiving in Mississippi, where his Marine son is stationed.
Trump made a flurry of brief public appearances over the weekend, often with Pence at his side, to flash frequent thumbs-ups and provide quick updates on his progress in building a government. Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee in 2012, was “under active and serious consideration” for secretary of state, Pence said. Trump himself said retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis was an “impressive” prospect for defense secretary.
Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser for the transition, said Monday the president-elect wanted to hear viewpoints from across the political spectrum, including from “Never Trumpers” who she said “are looking forward to having a say in what happens next.” She also said that Trump would receive a visit from Hawaii Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned her post in the Democratic National Committee after endorsing Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton.
“Not all of them (his visitors) will be in his Cabinet and his federal government, but they are all incredibly important in offering their points of views, their experience and certainly their vision of the country,” Conway said.
