Donald Trump’s team hasn’t contacted the State Department, Pentagon or several other federal agencies to discuss details of the transition to a new administration, but has had time to speak with a number of well-wishers, including celebrities and noted conspiracy theorists.
As the president-elect’s team has scrambled to vet and appoint cabinet members, he has welcomed a stream of well-wishers to Trump Tower. Among those he has met with have been boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and, reportedly, professional skateboarder Billy Rohan, who claimed Trump was receptive to his idea to spread peace by building skate parks around the country. Trump’s team has not confirmed that this meeting took place.
Jeanine Pirro, the Fox host known as “Judge Jeanine” was also spotted at Trump Tower Thursday.
Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist who believes Sept. 11 was an inside job and that the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a hoax, also said that Trump called him last week to thank him. Trump also took the time to speak with television host Piers Morgan and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Officials at the Pentagon, State Department, Department of Justice, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, USAID and the IRS all told Politico on Wednesday they hadn’t yet been contacted by Trump’s transition team. Transition talks were delayed after Trump abruptly replaced transition chair Chris Christie and his allies earlier this week because the new team had yet to sign the paperwork required to proceed.
Trump met with President Barack Obama and Republican congressional members last week in Washington. His team plans to finally meet with the departments of Defense, State, Justice and the National Security Council on Thursday, his staff told reporters.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that Trump sat for an interview with Harvey Levin after he was elected president. The interview was filmed in September; the reference has been removed.
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