Lake County Councilman and county Republican Celebration Chairman Randy Niemeyer has been tapped to be part of president-elect Donald Trump’s transition workforce taking part in convention calls with Division of Transportation officers.
Niemeyer, who misplaced in his race towards U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, in November, stated he’ll doubtless serve on the transition workforce by the affirmation hearings for former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy for transportation secretary.
“I ran for Congress as a result of I wish to serve my nation. If I can serve my nation this manner, I’m completely happy to do it,” Niemeyer stated.
As Trump’s incoming second administration takes form, former federal officers are noting the variations in strategy as nominees and appointees rise up to hurry.
Leslie Lenkowsky, professor emeritus in public affairs and philanthropic research at Indiana College Paul H. O’Neill Faculty of Public and Environmental Affairs, stated presidential transition groups technique differ primarily based on the incoming administration’s objectives.
Trump’s transition workforce has been distinctive in that it’s his second non-consecutive time period, which implies “there’s not a number of thriller there on the prime executives,” Lenkowsky stated. His transition workforce additionally has had the distinctive high quality of being headquartered at Mar-a-Lago, the Florida resort Trump owns, as an alternative of Washington D.C., Lenkowsky stated.
In choosing transition workforce members, Lenkowsky stated Trump has been choosing individuals who have been lively in Republican Celebration politics, who’ve demonstrated some extent of loyalty to Trump and a few experience within the space they’re working.
A member of the incoming administration reached out to him to assist with the Division of Transportation transition, Niemeyer stated. The place is volunteer, Niemeyer stated.
Niemeyer, who can also be a small enterprise proprietor and truck driver, stated he couldn’t disclose many particulars concerning the work he’s doing as he signed a non-disclosure settlement, however that he’s participated on a couple of convention calls with stakeholders within the Division of Transportation.
Throughout the calls, the workforce has mentioned stories, evaluation and laws suggestions forward of Duffy’s affirmation, he stated.
“That is about getting the foundational items performed for them,” Niemeyer stated. “I’ve loved the calls we’ve been on.”
Transition workforce members don’t receives a commission for his or her work, stated Lenkowsky. Sometimes, they should cowl the price of any journey and lodging bills as a part of their work for the workforce, he stated.
Typically, transition workforce members signal formal agreements to not share their stories or data with the general public, Lenkowsky stated. For instance, when he served on the Reagan transition workforce, Lenkowsky stated he signed paperwork that have been much like a marketing consultant settlement, he stated.
Duffy served within the U.S. Home for practically 9 years, from 2011 to 2019. He was a member of the Monetary Companies Committee and chairman of the subcommittee on insurance coverage and housing. He left Congress in 2019, and is co-host of “The Backside Line” on Fox Enterprise. Duffy is a former lumberjack athlete and he was featured on MTV’s “The Actual World: Boston” in 1997. He met his spouse, former “The Actual World: San Francisco” forged member Rachel Campos-Duffy, on the set of MTV’s “Highway Guidelines: All Stars” in 1998.
In his announcement for transportation secretary, Trump stated Duffy would use his expertise and relationships constructed through the years in Congress “to take care of and rebuild our nation’s infrastructure, and fulfill our mission of ushering within the golden age of journey, specializing in security, effectivity, and innovation. Importantly, he’ll significantly elevate the journey expertise for all Individuals.”
Trump needed Duffy to run for Wisconsin governor in 2022, however Duffy declined saying he wanted to maintain his 9 youngsters, together with his youngest little one who had a coronary heart situation.
Niemeyer stated Duffy would carry his expertise working in Congress into the position of transportation secretary.
“I feel he’s going to be unbelievable on the job,” Niemeyer stated.
The work a transition workforce does may very well be impacted by whether or not or not the incoming division secretaries have a number of expertise within the subject, Lenkowsky stated. The much less expertise an incoming division secretary has, the extra work the transition workforce has to do, he stated.
Niemeyer stated he hasn’t had direct contact with Trump whereas a member of the transition workforce.
“I’m a small participant on the workforce. However it’s superb, I’m completely happy to contribute to the workforce,” Niemeyer stated.
Lenkowsky served on the presidential transition groups of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.
Reagan’s transition workforce was extremely organized, Lenkowsky stated, which included the creation of smaller groups that reported to a lead individual, who reported to a steering group, which reported to the president.
Whereas on Reagan’s transition workforce, Lenkowsky stated he was on a workforce addressing worldwide broadcasting efforts like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Lenkowsky stated he and one different individual met with company officers, studied information, and wrote up a 10-page report.
“We reported as much as one individual, who reported to others,” Lenkowsky stated. “It was very hierarchical.”
Within the Bush transition workforce, Lenkowsky stated he performed a smaller position. Bush’s transition interval was shorter as a result of the 2000 election outcomes have been delayed till December when the Supreme Court docket dominated in Bush’s favor in a Florida recount case, he stated.
Whereas the Bush transition didn’t embody the creation of subset groups, Lenkowsky stated members of Bush’s employees reached out to varied professionals to get their perception on what points the president ought to tackle.
Lenkowsky, who labored at AmeriCorps on the time, stated he talked with an individual who would turn out to be a White Home coverage employees member about what Bush might do to maintain his marketing campaign promise to mobilize “armies of compassion,” which meant the nation’s volunteer teams.
“I defined to him how they may use AmeriCorps to do that,” Lenkowsky stated. “It was very casual. I had no sense of hierarchy.”
Since Trump has been elected, Marjorie Hershey, professor emeritus of political science at Indiana College Bloomington, stated the selections he’s made have been primarily based on feelings relatively than coverage.
“He’s probably not accustomed to taking note of what different individuals should say, as a result of he’s by no means needed to,” Hershey stated. “A lot that he’s doing is emotional relatively than coverage.”
akukulka@post-trib.com
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