Trump asks key Obama counterterrorism officials to stay on

[FarmerJohn]

By GREGORY HELLMAN 01/19/17

President-elect Donald Trump's transition team Thursday announced that a handful of top Obama administration counterterrorism officials will remain in their posts after the inauguration.

The decision comes amid rising concerns that personnel gaps in key national security agencies could leave the incoming administration ill-prepared to deal with a crisis.

Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said among those staying on after Friday will be Nick Rasmussen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center; Brett McGurk, special presidential envoy for the global coalition to counter ISIL; Tom Shannon, undersecretary of state for political affairs; and Adam Szubin, the Treasury Department's acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

At least one other security official may be in line to stay indefinitely: Dab Kern, acting director of the White House Military Office. "The president intends to make Dab Kern permanent," Spicer said.

Trump's transition team previously announced that Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work will also remain on for a period of time.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/donal...errorism-officials-to-stay-on-233840?lo=ap_b1

 

[SmithJ]

Well, there has to be some continuity.

 

[Dozdoats]

Does there?

I don't know any of those names or their records, but the mere fact they were in the previous administration makes them suspect to me.

 

[Be Well]

There are white hats among the black hats.

 

[Dozdoats]

And there are fly droppings among the pepper too. Doesn't make it any easier to sort out.

 

[SmithJ]

Yes there does, If you take over a new business you can't fire everyone day one unless you have new, trained employees to replace them.

Or unless you just bought it to shut down. And I'm pretty sure I don't want the government to shut down. (shrink, but not shut down)

Does there?

I don't know any of those names or their records, but the mere fact they were in the previous administration makes them suspect to me.

 

[Rastech]

There are white hats among the black hats.

If not, it's easier to arrest them if they are still at their posts . . . . . .

 

[David Nettleton]

These leftovers are a conduit to Obama. Not good.

 

[Dozdoats]

I've done a little looking. Most of them seem to be typical SES types, with all the right tickets punched to get to those positions in the previous administration. Which tells me NOTHING about personal proclivities (except for McGurk).

Kern I don't have any grief with.

https://www.nctc.gov/docs/121913_BIO_Rasmussen.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_H._McGurk

https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/55306.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under...sury_for_Terrorism_and_Financial_Intelligence

 

[Publius]

They could end up with a job over night and it would be fitting seeing how they did not rat them out from the things they were doing to us.