When Trump’s aides were scouting for names for a CIA chief, Nunes suggested his colleague, Kansas Republican Rep. Mike Pompeo. Those aides got back to Nunes after the election and asked whether he still thought Pompeo was the right guy.Roughly five days later — after an interview in Trump Tower — the president-elect nominated Pompeo to the powerful post.

Nunes added that he isn’t aware of any lengthy questionnaire that Pompeo filled out, as is standard with major nominees.

“They asked me who would be the person for the agency, and I said without a doubt that Pompeo would be a great pick,” Nunes, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told POLITICO.

That’s the way that much of the selection and vetting for top political appointments is unfolding in Trump Tower, the de-facto nerve center of the incoming administration. There, the president-elect meets with friends, politicians, statesmen, donors and lawyers to map out his future Cabinet and agenda. Final decisions on appointees are made alongside his tiny cadre of top advisers, including incoming chief of staff Reince Priebus, senior adviser Steve Bannon, son-in-law Jared Kushner and Vice President-elect Mike Pence.