It's a family affair: Donald Trump appoints his daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and sons Eric and Don Jr to run his transition team alongside running mate Mike Pence
Donald Trump has organised his first staff-shakeup before he even takes office - and put his children firmly in charge.
He ousted New Jersey governor Chris Christie as head of his presidential transition and appointing running mate Mike Pence to chair the effort, with all his adult children and his son-in-law also on board.
Ivanka, Donald Jr and Eric Trump, and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law are all on the team.
So too is Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, the PayPal co-founder who brought down gossip website Gawker by funding Hulk Hogan's lawsuit.
"Together this outstanding group of advisors, led by Vice President-elect Mike Pence, will build on the initial work done under the leadership of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to help prepare a transformative government ready to lead from day one," Trump said in a statement announcing the change.
Christie is to stay on as a vice chair. He is joined by former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, defeated rival Dr. Ben Carson, Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, who traveled with Trump and advises on national security, and Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions.
Kushner, also fills a role. He accompanied Trump to Washington when he met with President Obama and congressional leaders on Thursday.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who became a story during the campaign after it was revealed Trump's foundation had accidentally given her a campaign contribution around the time she decided not to join a lawsuit against Trump University, also is part of the effort.
Also on the transition advisory list is venture capitalist Thiel, who spoke at the GOP convention and bet against the liberal Silicon Valley consensus.
Trump campaign CEO Steven Bannon is a member, as are several lawmakers, including Rep. Chris Collins of New York, the first to endorse Trump.
SkyBridge Capital founder and Trump-backer Anthony Scaramucci is part of the effort. So is Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus.
Early Trump backers Rep. Lou Barletta and Tom Marino are on the list, along with California Rep. Devin Nunes, who hosted Trump for a California fundraiser that banked $1.3 million.
Marino called his decision to endorse (he was the fifth national lawmaker to do so) "one of my life-changing moments".
"Donald has been my friend for 28 years, all my work on behalf of him is done out of great loyalty and friendship to him," said Giuliani at Trump Tower Friday. "I can see already, how he is going to be a great president. And I'm glad I can play a small role."
Christie was still running the effort as of Thursday. On Wednesday, he chaired a meeting about the transition in New York. He also appeared on the Today show Thursday to talk transition steps, notwithstanding the convictions of two senior Christie aides in the Bridgegate scandal just days before the election.
Christie has also been reported to be in the running for several senior jobs.
Two former Christie aides, Bill Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly, were found guilty last week after a 7-week trial over their role in the Bridgegate scandal over lane closures to the George Washington Bridge. Another pled guilty. Former Christie associate and port authority executive head David Wildstein pled guilty to his role.
After a whirlwind tour of Washington, D.C. where he met with President Obama for the first time, President-elect Donald Trump began Friday inside Trump tower, where he said he had a "busy day" planned hiring his team.
At the top of the agenda is hiring a chief of staff who would oversee Trump's effort to "Make America Great Again" with swift action being contemplated on health care, immigration, and economic policy.
"Busy day planned in New York. Will soon be making some very important decisions on the people who will be running our government!" Trump tweeted.
It was the only official guidance provided to members of the media keeping track of Trump's schedule. The only information provided Thursday night was that Trump was headed back to New York.
Reporters camped out inside Trump tower outside a Starbucks revealed that Trump campaign CEO Steve Bannon entered the building, as did advisor David Bossie, who got brought in to aide Trump's campaign effort.
Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was also spotted.
New York Rep. Chris Collins, who was the first lawmaker to endorse Trump, told CNN Friday the decision on a chief of staff could come by this weekend.
One leading candidate, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, appeared on ABC's Good Morning America Friday morning.
Bannon, who joined Trump's effort after leading conservative web site Breitbart.com, is a leading contender, the New York Times reported Thursday. He is considered a leading force behind some of the brash tactics that Trump employed in the final weeks of the campaign, including bringing Bill Clinton accusers to a presidential debate.
He was frequently spotted at Trump's side during appearances.
Christie appears out given his demotion from leading the transition team.
Also mentioned is Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump's husband, who accompanied Trump to his meeting with President Obama. Kushner met with Obama chief of staff Denis McDonough on Thursday.
Collins said a choice on the top job could come as soon as this weekend.
According to an organizational chart obtained by Politico, the transition team includes lobbyists for tobacco giant Altria, the American Council of Life Insurers, General Electric, the Pharmaceutical industry, Dow Chemical, and energy giant Southern Company.
WHO'S WHO IN THE TRUMP TRANSITION TEAM
Ivanka Trump, 35. Executive vice president of development and acquisitions at The Trump Organization, co-founder of Trump Hotels, fashion designer, founder of IvankaTrump.com
Trump's elder daughter is probably the best known of the president-elect's children. She runs a #WomenWhoWork initiative and her fingerprints were on her father's child care and maternity leave policies.
Ivanka Trump. Photo / AP
Her calm demeanor suffered a rare dent in an interview with Cosmopolitan when challenged on her father's historic comments about pregnancy being "inconvenient" for business, calling it "an unfair characterization of his track record and his support of professional women".
Donald Trump Jr., 38. Executive vice president of development and acquisitions of the Trump organization, boardroom advisor on The Apprentice
Don Jr. is the vice president's oldest son and himself a fatherof five. He made an impression at the Republican National Convention, delivering an impassioned defense of his father's character and business skills. "We didn't learn from MBAs. We learned from people who had doctorates in common sense," he said.
Trump Jr. is the vice president's oldest son. Photo / AP
Trump Jr. has said he would not rule out a run for New York mayor. But he also courted controversy earlier this year when he compared Syrian refugees to candy: "If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you. Would you take a handful? That's our Syrian refugee problem," he tweeted.
Skittles hit back, saying "Skittles are candy. Refugees are people."
Eric Trump, 32. Executive vice president of development and acquisitions for the Trump Organization
Eric is Trump's third child. He heads the Eric Trump Foundation - which was criticized for paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to host fundraisers at golf courses owned by his father.
A sizeable chunk of that went direct to Donald J. Trump himself, filings revealed.
He and his brother Donald Trump Jr. caused controversy when snaps of them hunting big game in Africa emerged, showing them with dead animals including a cheetah and the severed tail of an elephant.
Jared Kushner, 35. Owner of the New York Observer, real-estate developer and a senior adviser to Trump's campaign
Kushner is married to Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka.
He is principal owner of the real estate holding and development company Kushner Properties and the New York Observer.
Throughout Trump's campaign, he acted a right-hand man to Trump and was instrumental in keeping Chris Christie off the Republican ticket.
Reince Priebus, 44. Chairman of the Republican National Committee
There were reports of tension between Priebus, an unassuming attorney and politician, and Trump, who often seemed out to attack his own party. Priebus was frustrated with Trump's campaign direction and his attacks on House Speaker Paul Ryan and his handling of comments he made about the Gold Star Khan family.
Still, Priebus, a keen piano player, oversaw the RNC's ground game, using 315 field offices to knock on some 24 million doors and helping boost the party's - and by extension Trump's - field presence.
Reince Priebus. Photo / Getty Images
Stephen K. Bannon, 62. Trump campaign CEO, executive chairman of Breitbart News
Bannon heads up Breitbart, the fringe right-wing media outlet that found mainstream approval when Bannon was recruited by Trump as chief executive of his campaign. He was already a vocal Trump supporter, with Breitbart headlines including 'The 10 Most Important Reasons Trump Would Make A Great President'.
Bannon served seven years in the Navy before becoming a banker. He got rich partly off the back of royalties from a lucky investment in TV show Seinfeld. He is known for his aggressive style and his fondness for cargo shorts.
Stephen K. Bannon. Photo / Getty Images
Peter Thiel, 49. PayPal co-founder, Facebook board member
Billionaire Thiel was almost alone among Silicon Valley luminaries to embrace Trump.
Thiel was criticized for pouring money into Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker after it published a tape of the ex-wrestler having sex with his best friend's wife - which many saw as payback for the news outlet revealing he was gay.
Thiel defended his move, saying "if you're a single-digit millionaire like Hulk Hogan, you have no effective access to our legal system."
Thiel also criticized the media for its coverage of Trump, saying he shouldn't be taken "literally". "It [the media] never takes him seriously, but it always takes him literally," he complained.
Entrepreneur Peter Thiel and co-founder of PayPal. Photo / Getty Images
Chris Collins, 66. Congressman for New York
Collins has been the US Representative for New York's 27th congressional district since 2013.
The Republican, who started his career as a mechanical engineer, is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Collins was the first sitting member of Congress to publicly support Trump, and he previously supported Jeb Bush. His main priorities are creating jobs and repealing Obamacare.
Tom Marino, 64. Congressman for Pennsylvania
Marino has been the US Representative from Pennsylvania's 10th district since 2011.
Previously he served as the US Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
He is one of the most conservative politicians coming out of Pennsylvania.
Rebekah Mercer, 42. Director of the Mercer Family Foundation
Mercer is a member of a prominent GOP fundraising family that has close ties to former Breitbart executive Steve Bannon.
She previously worked on Wall Street and is the daughter of New York hedge funder Bob Mercer.
Though before this year she had no political experience, she took over a super Pac for Trump, called Make America Number 1 PAC, to which her family had gifted millions.
Devin Nunes, 43. Congressman for the 22nd district of California, Chairman of Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Nunes, of Portuguese descent, has been a congressman since 2003. He oversees the U.S. Intelligence Committee which in turn oversees the CIA and FBI among other agencies.
On Halloween Nunes wrote to FBI chief James Comey requesting more information following the latter's explosive letter to Congress that his agency was investigating fresh emails in relation to Hillary Clinton's email server. The FBI concluded there was nothing new in the emails to change its verdict of no charges.
Nunes also has experience in agriculture and water, since his district is centered on Fresno and Tulare in Central Valley, California's massive farming hotspot.
Devin Nunes. Photo / Getty Images
Anthony Scaramucci, 52. Founder of SkyBridge Capital
Harvard Law-educated Anthony 'the Mooch' Scaramucci grew up on Long Island and was a VP at Goldman Sachs before he founded his own company, hedge fund investment firm SkyBridge which has $12 billion under management. He has previously said he would like to be involved "somehow tangentially" in a Trump administration, 'but I have my own business'.
The Republican fundraiser has become a Trump convert - although he previously blasted the president-elect for being a "very divisive" "hack politician", predicting he would "eventually implode".
"My middle name could be S***-stirrer," he once said.
Brown is a conservative Republican who opposes abortion and extensive government spending.
Marsha Blackburn. Photo / Getty Images
Pam Bondi, 50. Florida Attorney General
Bondi has been Florida's Attorney General since 2011. The Republican spoke at the GOP national convention and was a regular at Trump rallies during his campaign.
In September, however, she stepped out of the spotlight after it was revealed that a PAC that supported her re-election in 2013 received a $25,000 from the Donald J Trump Foundation.
