According to a report from Bloomberg News, former members of the one-term president Donald Trump's cabinet, as well as other officials tied to him, are busy at work creating what is being described as a "shadow government" that will be ready to hit the ground running should he run for president -- and win -- in 2024.
With the former president hinting that he may announce his third bid for the presidency possibly in September, a large number of officials from former White House advisor Kellyanne Conway to former Homeland Security head Chad Wolf have signed on with the non-profit America First Policy Institute being run by former Trump cabinet member and World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon.
According to the report, the institute has assembled the group with the idea of not repeating the chaos of 2016 when Trump surprisingly won the election, and that should he not run and win in 2024, the organization is hoping whomever the GOP nominee is will make use of their roadmap.
According to Bloomberg's Maria Parker and Jennifer Jacobs, "The organization, based a short walk from the White House, is also developing policy proposals for an expected Republican-controlled House in November. The administration-in-waiting includes potential cabinet members, senior White House officials and even political appointees at federal agencies."
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"While America First’s work organizing a shadow government appears premature, as Republicans won’t even start voting in presidential primaries for another year and a half, it’s intended to help Trump or another GOP candidate avoid the missteps of his first presidential transition, when the candidate and his team were caught off-guard by his victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016," the report continued. "Last month, the organization announced that it had hired Michael Rigas, Trump’s former acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, a role akin to leading human resources for the federal government. His portfolio at America First includes putting together a blueprint the next Republican president can use to determine day-one executive actions and staffing at agencies."
Adding that "nine former Trump cabinet officials, 17 former senior White House staffers, 35 former senior-level administration officials and three former governors, including Bobby Jindal of Louisiana," have signed on, Bloomberg reports that other members include Conway and Wolf as well as "Larry Kudlow, former director of the National Economic Council; former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt; former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker; former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe; and Marc Lotter, a former special assistant to Trump."
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