Could Romney last on a Trump team of loyalists?

Editor’s Note: Timothy Stanley is a historian and columnist for Britain’s Daily Telegraph. He is the author of “Citizen Hollywood: How the Collaboration Between L.A. and D.C. Revolutionized American Politics.” The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.

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Tim Stanley: Trump transition far from chaotic. Though he's talked to Romney, he's not assembling a 'team of rivals'

Trump favors loyalty and coherence, Stanley says, but if he doesn't get GOP establishment on board, he could face strife

CNN  — 

The word a lot of people use to describe the Trump transition is “chaos.” That’s inaccurate. His appointment schedule is right on time and you might not like his choices but they make sense. They have so far been a rejection of the “team of rivals” approach associated with Obama and modeled on Lincoln’s administration.

Timothy Stanley

Trump is happy to flirt with former opponents like Mitt Romney, whose name is being floated for Secretary of State, but the words “loyalty” and “coherence” are more important to him – which is probably what he should be looking for.

Much of the apparently improvised nature of the transition likely comes down to an expectation of defeat. Presidential candidates who believe they are going to win often plan their potential cabinets well in advance. Trump had to throw together an organization more or less overnight. So it’s significant that his first serious moves were essentially about White House management, something that many President-elects leave until later. Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon have been swiftly elevated to chief of staff and chief strategist. Chris Christie is out.

Having righted the ship, Trump has moved on to policy portfolios. Recent presidents have used the transition period to send messages about the kind of administration they want to run. Bill Clinton chose a cabinet that looked like America, full of female and minority faces, and which stressed economic experience. Trump’s preferences are different. Take Wilbur Ross, one name mentioned for commerce, whose background eerily matches Trump’s own. A billionaire who has helped failing coal and steel industries; a critic of free trade. And, like many potential cabinet members, an early and enthusiastic Trump backer.

Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn delivers a speech on the first day of the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Flynn's views a departure from US policy
02:44 - Source: CNN

But the biggest emphasis in Trump’s nominations is on national security. He clearly respects tough-minded men who are unafraid of defying Washington in the name of defending America from its enemies. Army Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, a possible National Security Adviser, took on Obama. Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis (tipped for defense secretary) is blunt; he criticized the Iran deal.

Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo (CIA) hounded Hillary Clinton over Benghazi. Far from representing an isolationist revolution in foreign and military policy, the new administration will likely maintain an active role in the world, and give America’s security agencies its full support. This is a pity because dovishness was one of Trump’s most attractive qualities in the election.

BEDMINSTER TOWNSHIP, NJ - NOVEMBER 19: (L to R) President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with Mitt Romney after their meeting at Trump International Golf Club, November 19, 2016 in Bedminster Township, New Jersey. Trump and his transition team are in the process of filling cabinet and other high level positions for the new administration.  (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Trump & Romney meet as Trump mulls picks
05:32 - Source: CNN

So perhaps it’s no surprise that Mitt Romney, an old-fashioned hawk, showed up at Trump’s door to discuss, reportedly, the Secretary of State post. This would be a coup for Trump. To put on his team a man who is hugely respected and yet also an outspoken rival could look like he is reaching out.

This is another thing that many President-elects have tried to do. Obama kept Bush appointee Robert Gates on at defense and made Hillary Clinton, his constant critic in the primaries, Secretary of State. Moreover, Romney is strongly associated with opposition to Moscow – it was he who tried to put Russian hegemonic ambitions on the election agenda in 2012.

Some fear that Mike Flynn is too friendly with Putin, so Romney would add some nice balance. Jimmy Carter went for a similar model when he appointed two very different men, Cyrus Vance and Zbigniew Brzezinski, as Secretary of State and National Security Adviser in the 1970s.

But that relationship was frayed and eventually counterproductive. So, too, might be appointing Romney. Trump leads from the top, and he has made it clear in the last few weeks that he sees a grand alliance between Russia and America as the best solution to the crisis in Syria. If Trump taps Romney, then he risks creating dissension within the administration. If Romney accepted such a role, he would damage his own integrity.

Then again, leaving Romney out in the cold might allow an alternative political court to grow that fosters Republican criticism of the new administration. In other words, how Trump handles his conservative opposition is going to be just as important as how he deals with the Democrats. Democratic rebellion is expected and many votes will dismiss it as mere partisanship. But Romney, or the Bush family, have the capacity to create truly damaging headlines.

And if the cabinet is entirely made up of conservative Republicans with Trumpish tendencies, Trump leaves himself open to criticism from a GOP establishment that, since the surprise victory, has been otherwise happy to assent to his leadership.

For all this, the transition is actually going quite smoothly. Most presidents aim to have it done by Christmas and Trump is way ahead of that. It’s unlikely that a Republican Congress will block any appointments – even Jeff Sessions for attorney general, troubled by accusations of racism, will likely sail through. Any heat seems to be cannily generated by Trump himself, via Twitter. His war with the cast of Hamilton feels like a brilliantly choreographed distraction from, among other things, his selection process.

Does Trump want to construct consensus in Washington or push forth aggressively with his own agenda? Perhaps that’s a silly question. Expect a cabinet that largely does as it’s told.