Donald Trump picks Reince Priebus as chief of staff, Stephen Bannon as chief strategist
Updated
US President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, the favourite of the party's establishment and a low-key Washington insider, to serve in the influential position of White House chief of staff.
The choice of Mr Priebus, a loyal campaign ally to Mr Trump who has close ties with House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, signalled a willingness to work with Mr Ryan and the Republican-led Congress to get his agenda passed.
The other frontrunner for the job had been Stephen Bannon, Mr Trump's campaign chairman and former head of the conservative Breitbart News.
Mr Trump named Mr Bannon as his chief strategist and senior counsellor.
"I am thrilled to have my very successful team continue with me in leading our country," Mr Trump said in a statement.
"Steve and Reince are highly qualified leaders who worked well together on our campaign and led us to a historic victory. Now I will have them both with me in the White House."
Mr Trump, who will take office on January 20 and will succeed Democratic President Barack Obama, has been working on his transition to the White House since Tuesday's election win over Democrat Hillary Clinton and contemplating the candidates for top jobs in his administration.
Mr Trump and his advisers have already signalled he may hedge on some of his major campaign promises, including immigration, healthcare and appointing a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton.
Who is Reince Priebus?
The chief of staff position, which serves as a gatekeeper and agenda-setter for the president, is typically one of the most important early choices for an incoming president.
Mr Priebus is a long-time Wisconsin political operative who was credited with marshalling party resources for Mr Trump's White House bid.
The RNC stepped in and ran most of the party's get-out-the-vote effort this year in the absence of such an operation by the Trump campaign.
Mr Priebus frequently travelled with Mr Trump on the campaign trail and was seen as a positive force who helped rein in the unpredictable Mr Trump in the closing weeks.
Mr Trump made his high regard for Mr Priebus known on election night when he pulled him to the microphone to take a bow for his campaign efforts.
The choice of Mr Priebus as chief of staff could anger some Trump supporters counting on him, as he said during the campaign, to "drain the swamp" of business-as-usual Washington insiders.
Who is Stephen Bannon?
The new chief strategist and senior counsellor is a firebrand outsider who, as head of Breitbart, repeatedly attacked the Republican Party establishment, alienating many veteran Republicans.
Mr Bannon showed his willingness to engage in brutal political tactics when he instigated the appearance before a presidential debate of three women who said they had been sexually abused by his Democratic rival's husband, former president Bill Clinton.
Before joining Mr Trump's team, Mr Bannon spearheaded Breitbart's shift into a forum for the alt-right, or alternative right — the umbrella term for a group of Americans who seek to eschew political correctness and break the current political system, and are viewed by critics as racist and dangerous.
Mr Bannon's hiring by Trump's campaign this year signalled the businessman's dedication to operating outside the norms of Washington.
Under Mr Bannon's leadership, the Breitbart site presented a number of conspiracy theories about Mrs Clinton as well as Republicans deemed to be lacking in conservative bona fides.
Critics have accused Mr Bannon of harbouring anti-Semitic and white nationalist sentiments.
In a 2007 court filing during divorce proceedings, Mr Bannon's former wife accused him of making anti-Semitic comments on at least three occasions.
Reuters
Topics: government-and-politics, us-elections, world-politics, united-states
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