Whether Trump will welcome these former opponents into his administration remains unclear. Trump and his team must fill more than 4,000 jobs, a daunting task for a president-elect with no experience in federal government. And the real-estate mogul is known for his ability to hold a grudge — a trait that worries some job-seekers.
Those concerns are particularly acute for national security experts, dozens of whom signed letters warning that Trump would “put at risk our country’s national security and well-being.”
Peter Feaver, a Bush era White House aide who signed both letters, did not expect that Trump would hire anyone involved with the effort, saying they were “effectively on a blacklist.” But he said that the new administration could still pick from a sizable group of former Republican foreign policy officials who were not signatories.
He’s urging them to consider taking a post, both to shape the policies of the new administration and advance their own careers.
“He is our president and if he asks you to serve the country, you shouldn’t reflectively say ‘no,’ ” said Feaver, a professor at Duke University.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member