To Mr. McConnell, Mr. Zinke (pronounced ZIN-kee) was an ideal candidate to defeat Senator Jon Tester, a two-term Democrat, and bolster the Republicans’ slender majority.
Then President-elect Donald J. Trump intervened.
Mr. McConnell learned early this week that Mr. Trump had grown interested in Mr. Zinke to be secretary of the interior. Mr. McConnell quickly contacted both Vice President-elect Mike Pence and Reince Priebus, the incoming White House chief of staff, in an effort to head off the appointment, according to multiple Republican officials familiar with the calls…
And there is growing concern in Mr. Trump’s orbit that Ms. Heitkamp, much like Mr. Manchin, is enjoying the political benefit of being courted by a president-elect popular in her home state, but that she has no intention of joining the cabinet. Mr. Trump has started assessing other candidates for Agriculture, including Gov. C.L. (Butch) Otter of Idaho.
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