The Command Structure In Trumpworld

Click here for an article in The Washington Post, by Josh Rogin, entitled "Inside Trump’s shadow national security council."

The triumvirate at the top of the heap are chief strategist Steve Bannon, senior adviser Jared Kushner, and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. "No major decision can go forward without their sign-off."

The national security adviser-designate, retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, is also playing a major role, not only in choosing his National Security Council staff but also by putting forth candidates for other national security and intelligence agencies, transition officials said. Billionaire Peter Thiel is involved in the Defense Department transition, mostly on an organizational level, and is also on the official executive committee.

Each of the three advisers at the top has carved out a niche:

Bannon has been working on the long-term strategic vision that will shape the Trump administration’s overall foreign policy approach. He has a keen interest in Asia, is committed to working on the buildup of the military and is also interested in connecting the Trump apparatus to leaders of populist movements around the world, especially in Europe.



Kushner has become a main interlocutor for foreign governments and has been interacting with leading representatives from countries including Israel, Germany and Britain. He also has the most amount of confidence from the incoming president and is charged with looking out for the personal political interests of his father-in-law.



Priebus’s role is often to take the ideas and plans put forth by other Trump loyalists and filter them through the lens of what would work practically. He is known to weigh in on how major foreign policy ideas or appointments would be received by outsiders such as lawmakers, foreign governments and the media.

There are some conflicts between strong, forceful members of Trump's team:

Mattis and the Trump team have already clashed over Pentagon staffing, and consequently most Defense Department senior official positions remain unfilled. Transition officials told me that Mattis requested that almost two dozen Pentagon political appointees be allowed to stay on during the first months of the Trump administration because he did not want the Pentagon to be caught flat-footed in case of an early emergency.

The Trump transition team pushed back and allowed Mattis to retain only a half-dozen top officials, including Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work.

There's competition for the top spots:

Inside Trump world, there is also a lot of jostling for spots on what are known as the “beachhead teams.” These are sets of officials who will receive temporary 120-day political appointments while the permanent appointments are sorted out. There’s no guarantee the beachhead team officials will get permanent jobs, but they will be in a stronger position to contend for them. This is another way in which the Trump insiders are already exerting influence before the Cabinet officials can get their boots on.

Rogin concludes by saying that those who appear to be in the strongest position are those who have been with him since the beginning (With some exceptions, I might note, such as Chris Christie and Rudy Giuliani.)