US President-elect Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he will put forward the name of professional wrestling magnate and former Senate candidate Linda McMahon as his choice to head the Small Business Administration.

Trump also said McMahon would be a crucial player in generation of stronger job growth and roll back federal regulations.

If confirmed by the Senate, McMahon would join Trump&rsquo;s economic team that includes Wall Street executives Steven Mnuchin at the Treasury Department and Wilbur Ross at Commerce.

68-year-old McMahon is a co-founder and former CEO of the professional wrestling franchise WWE.

&quot;Linda has a tremendous background and is widely recognised as one of the country&rsquo;s top female executives advising businesses around the globe,&quot; Trump said in the announcement, Reuters reported.&nbsp;

McMahon, an early supporter of Trump&rsquo;s presidential campaign, said her goal as the SBA chief would be to promote small businesses and help them grow and thrive.

&ldquo;Our small businesses are the largest source of job creation in our country,&rdquo; she said.

Trump, a WWE Hall of Fame member, &nbsp;said McMahon had helped the WWE grow from a 13-person operation to a publicly traded global enterprise with more than 800 employees worldwide.&nbsp;

Trump also picked a fossil fuel industry defender as his top environmental official, another retired general as homeland security chief and Iowa&rsquo;s governor as US ambassador to China in choices at odds with some of his recent pronouncements.

Trump, who is tapping members for his Cabinet as he prepares to take office&nbsp;on January 20, said Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, 48, would be nominated to head the Environmental Protection Agency.&nbsp;

Pruitt had sued the EPA in an attempt &nbsp;to undo a key regulation under outgoing President Barack Obama that would curtail greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from coal-fired power plants.

Pruitt&rsquo;s selection comes despite a softer stance Trump has had &nbsp;on environmental regulation since his election.

Trump has retreated from casting climate change as a hoax, signalled he might be willing to allow the United States to continue participating in the Paris climate change deal aimed at lowering world carbon emissions, and met with former Vice President Al Gore.

Pruitt&rsquo;s selection brought a quick rebuke from Democrats.

&quot;The head of the EPA cannot be a stenographer for the lobbyists of polluters and Big Oil,&quot; House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said of Pruitt.

Trump nominated retired Marine Corps General John Kelly for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which controls immigration.&nbsp;

66-year-old Kelly, the third retired general named by Trump to a senior administration post, last year told Congress that a lack of security on the US-Mexican border is a threat to the United States.

Spokespersons for Trump&rsquo;s transition team said Republican Iowa governor Terry Branstad, who is known for his close ties to Beijing&rsquo;s leaders, was picked as US ambassador to China.&nbsp;

Trump has more key appointments to make in coming days, including the&nbsp;secretary of state.&nbsp;

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(WION with inputs from Reuters)

Republican Iowa governor Terry Branstad, who is known for his close ties to Beijing?s leaders, was picked as US ambassador to China

US President-elect Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he will put forward the name of professional wrestling magnate and former Senate candidate Linda McMahon as his choice to head the Small Business Administration. Trump also said McMahon would be a crucial player in generation of stronger job growth and roll back federal regulations. If confirmed by the Senate, McMahon would join Trump’s economic team that includes Wall Street executives Steven Mnuchin at the Treasury Department and Wilbur Ross at Commerce. 68-year-old McMahon is a co-founder and former CEO of the professional wrestling franchise WWE. "Linda has a tremendous background and is widely recognised as one of the country’s top female executives advising businesses around the globe," Trump said in the announcement, Reuters reported. McMahon, an early supporter of Trump’s presidential campaign, said her goal as the SBA chief would be to promote small businesses and help them grow and thrive. “Our small businesses are the largest source of job creation in our country,” she said. Trump, a WWE Hall of Fame member, said McMahon had helped the WWE grow from a 13-person operation to a publicly traded global enterprise with more than 800 employees worldwide. Trump also picked a fossil fuel industry defender as his top environmental official, another retired general as homeland security chief and Iowa’s governor as US ambassador to China in choices at odds with some of his recent pronouncements. Trump, who is tapping members for his Cabinet as he prepares to take office on January 20, said Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, 48, would be nominated to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt had sued the EPA in an attempt to undo a key regulation under outgoing President Barack Obama that would curtail greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from coal-fired power plants. Pruitt’s selection comes despite a softer stance Trump has had on environmental regulation since his election. Trump has retreated from casting climate change as a hoax, signalled he might be willing to allow the United States to continue participating in the Paris climate change deal aimed at lowering world carbon emissions, and met with former Vice President Al Gore. Pruitt’s selection brought a quick rebuke from Democrats. "The head of the EPA cannot be a stenographer for the lobbyists of polluters and Big Oil," House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said of Pruitt. Trump nominated retired Marine Corps General John Kelly for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which controls immigration. 66-year-old Kelly, the third retired general named by Trump to a senior administration post, last year told Congress that a lack of security on the US-Mexican border is a threat to the United States. Spokespersons for Trump’s transition team said Republican Iowa governor Terry Branstad, who is known for his close ties to Beijing’s leaders, was picked as US ambassador to China. Trump has more key appointments to make in coming days, including the secretary of state. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Trump nominates WWE co-founder, Obama foe and third retired general for his cabinet

Trump&rsquo;s transition team is having a hard time filling its seats and his campaign call to&nbsp;&quot;drain the swamp&quot; of Washington might make the process even more difficult.

According to a First Post report Trump&#39;s credo&nbsp;plan would ban all executive-branch officials from lobbying for five years after leaving their government jobs. The policy is aimed at checking the influence of lobbyists.&nbsp;

&ldquo;The ban also applies to the transition team members charged with helping to find, vet and hire for the incoming Republican administration,&quot; Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said late Wednesday according to the&nbsp;First Post report.&nbsp;

There is also conflicting information on whether JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co (JPM.N) chief executive Jamie Dimon could become the next US treasury secretary in President-elect Donald Trump&rsquo;s cabinet, and this has pushed the nation&rsquo;s largest bank into uncertainty.&nbsp;

On Wednesday, tweets from Fox Business News reporters indicated that Dimon was still in the race for the job. Fortune, however, reported that Dimon has formally told the Trump transition team that he is not interested in being the treasury secretary.

JPMorgan spokespeople have not made any official comment.

While a Trump transition team source told Reuters that Dimon is &quot;pitching hard&quot; for the Treasury role,&nbsp;two other sources indicated that he is not interested.&nbsp;

The speculations over his departure have put JPMorgan&rsquo;s investors in a state of frenzy. Dimon has run JPMorgan for a decade and is viewed as a torchbearer for Wall Street. He does not have a clear successor.

&quot;He is one of the best CEOs in the industry and corporate America, so if there were to be a quick departure that would be troubling,&quot; Walter Todd, chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital Management, which owns&nbsp;JPMorgan shares told Reuters. &quot;It is very difficult to replace someone like him.&quot;

&nbsp;

Education secretary

US media also reports&nbsp;that Trump is considering west Michigan donor and school choice advocate Betsy DeVos&nbsp;for the position of education secretary.&nbsp;

According to The Detroit News,the 58-year-old billionaire power broker has strong political connections and is rooting for charter schools and vouchers which, proponents claim, give parents and students more freedom to seek a higher-quality education. Critics on the other hand view charter schools as an effort to privatise education at the expense of public schools.

&ldquo;As chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, DeVos was a driving force behind a failed 2000 ballot proposal that would have amended the Michigan Constitution to create a voucher system allowing taxpayer funds to follow students to nonpublic schools,&rdquo;&nbsp;the Detroit News said in one of its reports.

The report also cited federal records showing that&nbsp;DeVos donated more than $320,000 to the Republican Party, candidates and political organizations in 2016. The Detroit News&nbsp;added, however, that she did not contribute to Trump after giving to both former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina during the GOP primary.

Trumo has said that he wants to invest $200 billion in school choice and he might consider eliminating or significantly reducing the size of the department of&nbsp;education.&nbsp;

(WION)

 
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JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon reportedly turns down Treasury secretary post; Michigan mega donor Betsy DeVos rumoured for education secretary

Trump’s transition team is having a hard time filling its seats and his campaign call to "drain the swamp" of Washington might make the process even more difficult. According to a First Post report Trump's credo plan would ban all executive-branch officials from lobbying for five years after leaving their government jobs. The policy is aimed at checking the influence of lobbyists. “The ban also applies to the transition team members charged with helping to find, vet and hire for the incoming Republican administration," Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said late Wednesday according to the First Post report. There is also conflicting information on whether JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) chief executive Jamie Dimon could become the next US treasury secretary in President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet, and this has pushed the nation’s largest bank into uncertainty. On Wednesday, tweets from Fox Business News reporters indicated that Dimon was still in the race for the job. Fortune, however, reported that Dimon has formally told the Trump transition team that he is not interested in being the treasury secretary. JPMorgan spokespeople have not made any official comment. While a Trump transition team source told Reuters that Dimon is "pitching hard" for the Treasury role, two other sources indicated that he is not interested. The speculations over his departure have put JPMorgan’s investors in a state of frenzy. Dimon has run JPMorgan for a decade and is viewed as a torchbearer for Wall Street. He does not have a clear successor. "He is one of the best CEOs in the industry and corporate America, so if there were to be a quick departure that would be troubling," Walter Todd, chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital Management, which owns JPMorgan shares told Reuters. "It is very difficult to replace someone like him." Education secretary US media also reports that Trump is considering west Michigan donor and school choice advocate Betsy DeVos for the position of education secretary. According to The Detroit News,the 58-year-old billionaire power broker has strong political connections and is rooting for charter schools and vouchers which, proponents claim, give parents and students more freedom to seek a higher-quality education. Critics on the other hand view charter schools as an effort to privatise education at the expense of public schools. “As chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, DeVos was a driving force behind a failed 2000 ballot proposal that would have amended the Michigan Constitution to create a voucher system allowing taxpayer funds to follow students to nonpublic schools,” the Detroit News said in one of its reports. The report also cited federal records showing that DeVos donated more than $320,000 to the Republican Party, candidates and political organizations in 2016. The Detroit News added, however, that she did not contribute to Trump after giving to both former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina during the GOP primary. Trumo has said that he wants to invest $200 billion in school choice and he might consider eliminating or significantly reducing the size of the department of education. (WION)

Trump's transition team struggles to find takers to 'drain the swamp'

As the United States transitions from President Barack Obama to President-elect Donald Trump, the latter responded to questions over his new team.

The process of selecting the new cabinet and other positions, Trump said, was &quot;very organised&quot;.

While reports in the US media said that two senior members of the team working on national security have been forced out, Trump said, &ldquo;I am the only who knows who the finalists are.&rdquo;

A BBC report stated that New Jersey governor Chris Christie has been replaced with vice-president-elect Mike Pence as head of the transition team.

Media reports also suggested that Trump&#39;s son-in-law and close advisor Jared Kushner was responsible for the change.

Former Congressman and house intelligence committee chairman Mike Rogers handling national security for the transition, announced on Tuesday that he was leaving, BBC reported.

The New York Times, however, reported that Rogers, along with another member of the national security team, Matthew Freedman, were sacked.

At the senior economic positions are campaign finance chair and Wall Street veteran Steve Mnuchin as treasury secretary, and long-time backer Wilbur Ross for commerce secretary, according to Trump ally Carl Icahn, stated a Reuters report.

&quot;Very organised process taking place as I decide on cabinet and many other positions,&quot; Trump tweeted.

Trump also denied that he had requested security clearances for his children

Trump has less than 70 days until his January 20 inauguration to settle on cabinet members and other senior appointees. He is required to fill around 4,000 open positions, Reuters reported.

(WION with inputs from agencies)

The process of selecting the new cabinet and other positions, Trump said, was "very organised"

As the United States transitions from President Barack Obama to President-elect Donald Trump, the latter responded to questions over his new team. The process of selecting the new cabinet and other positions, Trump said, was "very organised". While reports in the US media said that two senior members of the team working on national security have been forced out, Trump said, “I am the only who knows who the finalists are.” A BBC report stated that New Jersey governor Chris Christie has been replaced with vice-president-elect Mike Pence as head of the transition team. Media reports also suggested that Trump's son-in-law and close advisor Jared Kushner was responsible for the change. Former Congressman and house intelligence committee chairman Mike Rogers handling national security for the transition, announced on Tuesday that he was leaving, BBC reported. The New York Times, however, reported that Rogers, along with another member of the national security team, Matthew Freedman, were sacked. At the senior economic positions are campaign finance chair and Wall Street veteran Steve Mnuchin as treasury secretary, and long-time backer Wilbur Ross for commerce secretary, according to Trump ally Carl Icahn, stated a Reuters report. "Very organised process taking place as I decide on cabinet and many other positions," Trump tweeted. Trump also denied that he had requested security clearances for his children Trump has less than 70 days until his January 20 inauguration to settle on cabinet members and other senior appointees. He is required to fill around 4,000 open positions, Reuters reported. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Trump shuffles transition team, eyes loyalists for cabinet

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