Vice President-elect Mike Pence, in heading Donald Trump’s transition team efforts, is now removing lobbyists, according to reports.
Sources inside the team told Fox News that Pence is moving to get rid of lobbyists in key roles in order to “drain the swamp,” which was one of Trump’s campaign slogans.
A source said the move “makes good on [Trump’s] vision of how he wants his government constructed.”
On Tuesday, Pence signed a memorandum that put him in charge of the transition team. A similar document had been signed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was spending the past several months running transition operations.
According to The Associated Press, a source said that different factions in Trump’s team are “fighting for power.”
“That organization right now is not designed to work,” a person close to the efforts said.
The group that Christie had organized consisted of lobbyists, former officials, corporate lawyers, and academics.
Trump on Tuesday tweeted that the transition process is going well. “Very organized process taking place as I decide on Cabinet and many other positions. I am the only one who knows who the finalists are!” he wrote.
He added: “The failing @nytimes story is so totally wrong on transition. It is going so smoothly. Also, I have spoken to many foreign leaders.”
