Trump announces first wave of additional White House staff

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Incoming U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday announced additional members of the White House staff, as count down to January 20 inauguration.

The Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the announcement was made in a statement issued by the Trump’s Transition Team.

“These individuals will be key leaders in helping to implement the President-elect’s agenda and bring real change to Washington.

“Each of them has been instrumental over the last several months, and in some cases years, in helping the President-elect,” incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said.

The new members of staff include: Marc Short, Assistant to the President and Director of Legislative Affairs; John DeStefano, Assistant to the President and Director of Presidential Personnel; and Omarosa Manigault, Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison.

The others are Josh Pitcock, Assistant to President and Chief of Staff to the Vice President; Keith Schiller, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Oval Office Operations; and George Gigicos, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Advance.

Jessica Ditto is Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Communications Director; Raj Shah, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Communications Director and Research Director; and Bill Stepien, Deputy Assistant to the President and Political Director.

Jen Pavlik was announced Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President and John McEntee, Special Assistant to the President and Personal Aide to the President.

Trump had on Wednesday announced Katie Walsh as Deputy Chief of Staff to the White House, Rick Dearborn will serve as Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Intergovernmental Affairs and Implementation, and Joe Hagin will serve as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations.

“The President-elect’s bold vision to make America great again demands a team of doers who can hit the ground running on day one,” said Priebus.

“Katie, Rick, and Joe will fill critical roles as we push forward on all of the key priorities for our great nation.”

Trump’s Chief Strategist Steve Bannon said “Rick and Katie have been instrumental in our victory and transition efforts.

“These leaders will guide critical White House operations as we aggressively follow through on President-elect Trump’s promise to put America First.”

“President-elect Trump is assembling a phenomenal team to implement the change of status quo that the American people voted for in November,” said Kellyanne Conway, Counselor to the President.

“Katie Walsh is an all-star. She helped our party achieve sweeping victories across the country, and I’m thrilled to have another strong female leader on our Senior White House team,” he said.

Walsh will serve as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the White House. In this role she will assist Chief of Staff Priebus in overseeing senior staff as well as the scheduling operation and the Office of Public Liaison.

Dearborn will lead the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, Cabinet Affairs, and Implementation. He is currently Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Jeff Session, and the Executive Director of the Presidential Transition Team.

Hagin will lead operations in the White House including Management and Administration, Advance, Security and the Military Office.

He served in the White House for 14 years, working for the administrations of President Reagan, President Georg H.W. Bush and President George W. Bush.

NAN reports that Trump, who won the Nov. 8 2016 presidential election, has announced most of his cabinet nominees weeks to his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017. (NAN)

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