BY NIALL STANAGE – 11/19/16 06:03 AM EST
Liberals and even some moderate Republicans are shuddering at the prospect. But it is a source of delight among conservatives who believe the GOP establishment has drifted too far from its core principles.
Of the people tapped so far by President-elect Trump, only one — Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus — is identified with the party’s mainstream. Priebus will be chief of staff in the Trump White House.
The other names tapped for important positions are outsiders, albeit to varying extents.
Former Breitbart News executive Steve Bannon will be chief strategist, while Gen. Michael Flynn will be national security advisor.
Liberals accuse Breitbart of trafficking in racism, misogyny and bigotry, though Bannon vigorously denies that critique. Flynn has made a number of incendiary remarks about Islam, including asserting that fear of Muslims is “rational.”
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Trump’s pick to be attorney general, is perhaps the leading hardliner in the Senate on immigration, while his choice for CIA director, Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) is a staunch conservative who was among Hillary Clinton’s harshest critics over the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya. Pompeo opposes closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and has called Clinton’s tenure at the State Department “morally reprehensible.”
Sessions and Pompeo will require Senate confirmation to their positions, but Bannon and Flynn will not.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/306851-outsiders-take-power-in-trumps-washington
