President-elect Donald Trump has named GOP national chairman Reince Priebus to become his chief of staff, according to a report by the New York Times.
A separate insider source says that Stephen K. Bannon, who acted as head of the presidential campaign in its final months, is to become senior counselor to the president in a position similar to that currently filled by Valerie Jarrett in the Obama White House. Bannon is the CEO of Breitbart News.
The choice of Mr. Priebus is one that enables the new president to enter a world with which he has almost no familiarity, a point he spent much of his campaign emphasizing; it also allows him to retain some distance and yet provides him with a “liaison” who is superbly familiar with those who are most at home there.
Having Mr. Bannon close at hand also affords the president-elect the advantage of a fierce intellect without having to sacrifice the hugely necessary political handshake with both houses of Congress, a working relationship that is an absolute “must” if Mr. Trump is to move his agenda forward more than an inch at a time.