... Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, emerged as a leading candidate to be secretary of state, according to people familiar with the deliberations in the 26th-floor office in Trump Tower where Mr. Trump was ensconced throughout the day.And Politico adds:
... Mr. Trump is also considering naming Mr. Giuliani or Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama as the next attorney general, according to the people familiar with the discussions.
... People with knowledge of the process described a series of chaotic discussions and said Mr. Trump might also choose Mr. Giuliani or Mr. Sessions to lead the Department of Homeland Security, though neither has expressed interest in that job.
Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama is the leading contender for Donald Trump's secretary of defense, sources close to the transition say....Apparently, if Donald Trump had his druthers, he'd give every Cabinet job to Jeff Sessions or Rudy Giuliani. He'd have only two people in his Cabinet.
Trump seems terrified by the prospect of putting people on his team who aren't from his inner circle. I see that as a big reason he (allegedly!) wants security clearances for his kids. Obviously it's an easy (if ethically indefensible) way for them to obtain inside information as they run Trump's businesses -- but I also suspect that Trump feels more secure (or less insecure) around them. His ego won't permit him to acknowledge ignorance around anyone with whom he feels competitive (which means basically any adult male) -- but his kids are his kids, so he feels superior to them by definition. Therefore, it doesn't bruise his delicate ego quite as much that they might grasp something he doesn't.
Apart from the kids, Trump seems comfortable only with people who've kissed his ring. That group includes Giuliani and Sessions, Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus. And who else? Even ring-kissers can be on the outs -- Chris Christie seems to have been banished, and I don't know what's up with Newt Gingrich. So who's left? Can Trump staff an entire government with seven or eight people?
