Intelligence Expert Mike Rogers Leaves Trump Transition Team Amid Shake-up

Former House Intelligence Committee Chairman seen as Chris Christie ally; Ben Carson turns down cabinet post

ENLARGE
Mike Rogers, shown in this 2014 file photo when he was a member of Congress, has left the transition team of President-elect Donald Trump. PHOTO: MANUEL BALCE CENETA/ASSOCIATED PRESS


By DAMIAN PALETTA and
CAROL E. LEE
Updated Nov. 15, 2016 11:32 a.m. ET 520 COMMENTS

WASHINGTON—Former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers has left President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team amid a major shuffle and power consolidation that has pushed out multiple key figures.

Mr. Rogers, a Republican who represented Michigan until last year, held a central role overseeing the national-security transition process for Mr. Trump’s team since before last week’s election. But he is considered a close ally of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and multiple people close to Mr. Christie were removed from the transition team in recent days amid a major shake-up.

Ben Carson has declined an offer to become the next secretary of Health and Human Services, a spokesman said in a statement Tuesday. Dr. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, was among the first of Mr. Trump’s Republican primary rivals to endorse him and he served as one of the president-elect’s primary surrogates during the campaign.


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Presidential transitions can be intense, with the winning nominee and staff members, often exhausted from months of campaigning, forced to make pivotal decisions just weeks before the Jan. 20 inauguration. President Barack Obama named his chief of staff shortly after he was elected but it was almost three weeks before he named his economic team and another week before he named his national security team.

The Trump transition team didn’t respond to request for comment on Mr. Rogers departure or the progress of his team’s work.

After hurried meetings and phone calls last week following Mr. Trump’s victory, the transition process has nearly stalled, several people familiar with the matter said. There is tension between different camps, with the exodus of Christie allies and the ascension of aides close to Sen. Jeff Sessions(R., Ala.), one of Mr. Trump’s most trusted advisers. Former Defense Intelligence Agency Director Mike Flynn also holds considerable influence with Mr. Trump, said people familiar with the transition team’s work.




THE TRUMP TRANSITION

Mr. Sessions is expected to hold a cabinet position in the Trump White House, possibly as attorney general, people familiar with the matter said.

Three of Mr. Trump’s adult children and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are also playing a central role in the planning. Mr. Trump has placed a priority on rewarding people for loyalty during the campaign, people familiar with the transition said, and this is impacting the transition.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is the leading candidate to be Mr. Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would elevate a well-known national figure to become the U.S.’s chief diplomat.

Mr. Trump’s aides have also considered former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton as a possible candidate, but the close relationship between Messrs.

Giuliani and Trump was a major consideration, the people said.

Mr. Christie was ousted from the transition team’s top position on Friday and made a vice chair of the transition, a title he shares with four other people.

“It was a privilege to prepare and advise the policy, personnel and agency action teams on all aspects of the national security portfolio during the initial pre-election planning phase,” Mr. Rogers said in a statement. “Our work will provide a strong foundation for the new transition team leadership as they move into the post election phase, which naturally is incorporating the campaign team in New York who drove President-elect Trump to an incredible victory last Tuesday.”

The statement didn’t explain why Mr. Rogers was leaving, saying only that he was “proud of the team” he had put together and was now handing off his work to “the stellar new leadership team.”

The departure of Mr. Rogers removes one of the most experienced national security and foreign policy hands from the transition team. He was a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation before being elected to Congress, and he has extensive contacts in law enforcement, intelligence, and foreign-policy circles. He also has worked closely with Democrats during his congressional tenure.

Mr. Rogers was seen by many Republican foreign policy veterans as a likely candidate for the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency. It is unclear whether his chances for this top post will be affected now that he has left the transition.

Mr. Trump’s transition team was scheduled to have a large-scale meeting on Friday to plan their “landing teams” for every federal agency, but that process was upended when Vice President-elect Mike Pence replaced Mr. Christie.

This has forced the transition team to redraft what is known as a memorandum of understanding with the Obama administration authorizing Mr. Pence to lead the transition process with various federal agencies. These landing teams are crucial because they help inform the incoming administration what policies the agencies are working on, how their personnel is structured, and what issues need to be addressed.

“We look forward to completing that work so that we can provide the necessary access to personnel and resources to get the president-elect’s team up to speed and deliver on President Obama’s directive for a smooth transition,” said White House spokeswoman Brandi Hoffine said.

Messrs. Trump and Pence are scheduled to meet Tuesday in New York to discuss the transition process, a meeting that could lead to more changes or expedite the process for picking cabinet nominees. Another reason the process is moving slowly is because multiple people being considered for key positions in the Trump administration haven't completed their paperwork or specified what potential conflicts of interest they might face, a person familiar with the matter said.

So far, Mr. Trump has named just two officials who will work in the new White House: Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and his chief strategist Steve Bannon.

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