Trump likely to reward loyalty with top appointments

NEW YORK (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump's early list of potential appointments to top positions appears to reward people who were loyal to him after a campaign in which many Republican Party leaders kept their distance.
Jeff Sessions, an Alabama senator who was one of Trump's most fervent supporters in the U.S. Congress, is said to be under consideration for a prominent role, perhaps defence secretary, sources familiar with transition planning said on Wednesday.
Retired General Michael Flynn emerged as a possible pick for Trump's national security adviser, the sources said.
Flynn, a former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, played a prominent role during the campaign, often serving as an introductory speaker at campaign rallies and has provided private counsel on foreign affairs.

"He has a calming influence on Trump," said a source familiar with transition planning.
In addition, former House of Representatives Newt Gingrich and U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee were also considered potential selections for secretary of state, the sources said. Corker chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Both Corker and Gingrich had been under discussion as potential vice presidential picks for Trump, a position that eventually went to Indiana Governor Mike Pence.
These same sources said Republican National Committee Reince Priebus, who has emerged as a trusted adviser to the New York businessman, was being talked about as a potential White House chief of staff.
A Priebus deputy, RNC senior strategist Sean Spicer, was a possibility for White House press secretary.
Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, who helped bring about a more disciplined approach to the candidate, was seen as potential White House senior adviser.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who endorsed Trump after dropping out of the 2016 Republican presidential nomination fight, was a possible education secretary.
Richard Grenell, a former spokesman for the United States at the United Nations, was a potential U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, as was New York Republican Representative Peter King.
Mike Rogers, a former chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, was in the mix for CIA director, the sources said.
Trump's transition team set up a website (https://www.greatagain.gov/) and Twitter account (@transition2017), promising to keep the country posted on plans, Politico reported. Trump was a prolific user of Twitter during the campaign, sometimes using it to deliver pithy put-downs of his critics and rivals.

Donald Trump's to-do list as US President

SINGAPORE: Donald Trump, who will become the 45th President of the United States on Jan 20 after scoring a shock victory over Democratic rival Hillary Clinton on Tuesday (Nov 8), has outlined an isolationist agenda and pledged to unravel many of outgoing President Barack Obama's policies, from trade liberalisation to the environment. We look at his likely policies.


We look at Mr Trump's likely policy moves - many of which would be prohibitively costly if not downright unfeasible or contradictory - in his first 100 days in office and beyond, based on his campaign speeches:


TRADE
- Renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and withdraw the US from the "job-killing" Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade pact signed by 12 countries including Singapore and Malaysia;

- Impose punishing trade tariffs of up to 45 per cent if China doesn't change the "predatory" practices he sees;
- Impose a 35% tax on any US company that wants to fire its workers and move to another country, and then bring its product back into the US.


IMMIGRATION
- Build a wall on the border with Mexico and make Mexico pay for it. Such a barrier could cost as much as US$13bil (RM55bil)) and it is highly unlikely that Mexico would foot the bill;
- Immediately begin the process of deporting illegal immigrants with criminal records, and jail people who illegally re-enter the US. Such moves would effectively end Obama's Illegal Immigration Act but at the cost of as much as US$166bil (RM702bil), including the cost of erecting a wall, according to Politico;
-  Introduce "extreme vetting" of people looking to immigrate to or visit the United States, including a screening test to weed out those who do not "share our values and respect our people". The measure may involve a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country, a move Trump first raised last year but has since fallen silent on after drawing widespread condemnation;
- Stop issuing visas to people coming from parts of the world where “adequate screening cannot occur”. He named Syria and Libya as two such places.


FOREIGN POLICY
- Review obligations to Nato. Trump said he may not guarantee protection to fellow Nato countries who come under attack, and would help only if that country had fulfilled its "obligations" within the alliance;
- Withdraw troops from Europe and Asia, including Japan and South Korea, if those allies fail to pay more for American protection;
- Strengthen the US military and deploy it in the East and South China Seas, where China has staked an increasing presence amid territorial spats with neighbouring Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam. "These actions will discourage Chinese adventurism that imperils American interests in Asia and shows our strength as we begin renegotiating our trading relationship with China," said Mr Trump. "A strong military presence will be a clear signal to China and other nations in Asia and around the world that America is back in the global leadership business.”
- "Bomb the hell" out of the Islamic State.


ECONOMY & JOBS
- During his first 100 days, Trump said he would work with Congress to introduce measures to grow the economy by 4% per year and create at least 25 million new jobs. One of the measures he has floated is deep tax cuts, which would swell national debt;
- Boost infrastructure spending by up to US$1 trillion over 10 years through public-private partnerships, and private investments through tax incentives.


ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY
- Lift restrictions on production of US$50tril (RM211tril) worth of US energy reserves, including shale, oil, natural gas and clean coal. This includes the Keystone Pipeline, which cuts between Alberta, Canada and Nebraska in the United States and is feared to cause environmental damage;
- Cancel billions in payments to UN climate change programmes and use the money to "fix America’s water and environmental infrastructure".


HEALTHCARE
Repeal the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare Act. Mr Obama's signature policy has brought health insurance to some 12.7 million people who would have struggled to afford medical cover but it has also pushed up insurance premiums for Americans not on government assistance.
Trump said he would replace this with another system that would give more power to states over how to handle funds. But Republicans could be hard pressed to muster the 60 votes needed to win passage for a repeal effort through the 100-seat Senate.


POLITICAL REFORMS
- Amend the Constitution to limit the term of all members of Congress;
- Impose a hiring freeze on all federal employees, and limits on lobbyists, including a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for US elections.


PROSECUTE CLINTON
- Appoint a special prosecutor to reopen the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server while she was secretary of state and put her in jail, although his Democratic rival has been absolved by the FBI of wrongdoing. - The Straits Times/Asia News Network