PALM BEACH, Fla. -- President-elect Donald Trump met Tuesday with candidates for his unfilled Cabinet positions, including prospective hires to run the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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Vice President-elect Mike Pence met with members of his incoming national security team.
At Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Florida estate, the president-elect met with Luis Quinonez, who runs a company with military and health care ties and is said to be under consideration for VA secretary. He also interviewed Toby Cosgrove, the chief executive officer of the Cleveland Clinic, who was a top contender to replace Eric Shinseki when he resigned at the VA in 2014. Cosgrove later withdrew from consideration.
Trump repeatedly pledged during the campaign to fix the woes at the department and said he would "take care of our great veterans." But he also came under scrutiny for being slow in paying out money raised for veterans groups and for suggesting that "strong" veterans don't need treatment for mental health problems.
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Others said to be considered for the post include former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller of Florida, and Pete Hegseth, an Army veteran and former CEO of Concerned Veterans for America.
Trump is also considering Jovita Carranza, who worked in President George W. Bush's administration, as his choice for U.S. trade representative. She served as deputy administrator of the Small Business Administration under Bush.
With just a handful of Cabinet posts to fill, Trump is facing some criticism for a lack of diversity in his senior team, which currently includes no Hispanics. The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials said Tuesday that it was "deeply concerned" at the lack of Hispanics considered for top jobs. Carranza was a member of Trump's Hispanic advisory council during the campaign.
Pence, meanwhile, met in Washington with former Texas state official Susan Combs, who served both as state agriculture commissioner and comptroller. Trump also needs to fill the agriculture Cabinet slot. Transition officials did not immediately confirm whether Combs is up for that post.
Pence meetings
Pence also met with retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, the incoming national security adviser; retired Gen. John Kelly, whom Trump is considering for head of Homeland Security; retired Gen. James Mattis, the pick for defense secretary; and Rex Tillerson, the head of Exxon Mobil and the intended nominee for secretary of state. Aides said the meeting was planned before this week's acts of violence, though those acts would be discussed.
Flynn is to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago today. The president-elect is planning to stay at his Palm Beach resort through the holidays.
Earlier Tuesday, Trump was back on Twitter after Bill Clinton told a suburban New York newspaper this month that Trump "doesn't know much. One thing he does know is how to get angry, white men to vote for him."
The Record Review, which serves Bedford and Pound Ridge, N.Y., also reported that Clinton said Trump called him after his election victory over Hillary Clinton.
"Wrong, he called me (with a very nice congratulations)," Trump tweeted. The president-elect added that Clinton is the one who "'doesn't know much'... especially how to get people, even with an unlimited budget, out to vote in the vital swing states (and more)." The Clinton campaign, he said, "focused on the wrong states."
Clinton later responded on Twitter, writing, "Here's one thing realDonaldTrump and I can agree on -- I called him after the election."
Inauguration plans
Also Tuesday, the Presidential Inaugural Committee announced that it debuted its website and social media accounts, 30 days ahead of Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration.
The website, 58pic2017.org, lists the information for all the events that the Presidential Inaugural Committee helps coordinate, which will be updated as more events are planned. The site also provides information on how the public can obtain tickets to the events, and contains short biographies of Trump and Pence.
"We are hard at work producing the most engaging and innovative inauguration yet, and our growing digital presence will provide every American with a front row seat to this exciting and unifying day," Boris Epshteyn, the committee's director of communications, wrote in a news release.
The inaugural committee, a private organization, is one of three entities spearheading inauguration festivities and celebrations. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies plans the actual swearing-in ceremonies of Trump and Pence. The Joint Task Force National Capital Region is responsible for coordinating all military support for the inauguration and many of the logistics for the parade. And the inaugural committee is in charge of planning and funding all of the events surrounding the swearing-in ceremony.
Officials with the inaugural committee have already announced that Jackie Evancho, a 16-year-old former America's Got Talent contestant, is to perform the national anthem. The committee is planning a welcome rally, two official inaugural balls, and a ball for military families, veterans and first responders. The theme of the inauguration, according to the committee, will be "Make America great again!"
Federal and city officials say they expect upward of 800,000 people to attend the inauguration and the parade. More than 13,000 members of the military and National Guard are expected to be in downtown Washington on inauguration day, providing security and participating in the parade and ceremonies. District of Columbia police, the Secret Service and U.S. Capitol Police will also be working.
There is a larger number of demonstrators than usual this inauguration, with more than 15 groups applying for "First Amendment" permits through the National Park Service, according to the federal agency that manages the country's parks.
The Women's March on Washington, which is scheduled for the day after the inauguration, is expected to be the biggest of the demonstrations.
Fundraising stir
Ethics experts, meanwhile, have raised questions about fundraising pitches offered by Trump's children in connection with the inauguration.
Last week, Eric Trump tried to auction a coffee date with his sister Ivanka to raise money for a children's hospital. Now, Eric and Donald Trump Jr. are part of a venture that initially offered a private reception with their father during inauguration weekend in exchange for $1 million donations that would go to conservation charities. Some of those contributors could later go hunting or fishing with one or both of the sons, the invitation promised.
Eric Trump canceled the coffee with Ivanka after The New York Times reported that some of the bidders were participating to gain insight about the Trump administration.
"Today, the only people who lost are the children of St. Jude," Eric Trump said after canceling the fundraiser for the children's hospital.
Trump aides say the Trump family has been focused on resolving the perception of conflicts when it comes to Trump's business; how to handle their charitable endeavors has been a secondary concern. But in light of recent events, the Trump team is looking more quickly for solutions, said a Trump transition official, speaking on condition of anonymity to share internal discussions.
Hope Hicks, a Trump spokesman, said the hunting and fishing events reflected "initial concepts that have not been approved or pursued by the Trump family." She added that the sons "are not involved in any capacity. Additionally, the president-elect is not aware of the event or the details pertaining to it."
The two previous presidents, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, expressly forbade immediate family members from such fundraising activities to avoid the appearance of selling access.
"We kept it simple. We did not allow the first family to be auctioned off, which is what is happening here," said Norman Eisen, who served as White House chief ethics counselor as Obama took office in 2009.
Richard Painter, who filled a similar role for Bush, said the White House "strongly discouraged" the president, his family and top aides from fundraising for charities, and avoided altogether charity fundraising that came with any access to those people.
Both said that while there's nothing explicitly illegal about the charity fundraising, it diverges from the best practices of previous White House administrations.
In an invitation that began circulating last week when the entertainment site TMZ posted it, Eric and Donald Trump Jr. were listed as honorary co-chairmen for a group seeking up to $1 million in donations for a Jan. 21 inauguration event dubbed "Opening Day."
Top donors could enjoy other perks such as a "private reception and photo opportunity for 16 guests with President Donald J. Trump" and "a multi-day hunting and/or fishing excursion for 4 guests with Donald Trump Jr. and/or Eric Trump and team," according to the invitation.
A few days before the invitation went out, a new nonprofit called Opening Day Foundation was registered in Texas. Paperwork filed with the state lists the two adult Trump sons and their Texas-based friends Gentry Beach and Tom Hicks Jr. as the nonprofit's directors. The documents were first reported by the Center for Public Integrity.
But Eric and Donald Trump Jr. had no idea they were named in the new nonprofit and have asked the Texas secretary of state to amend the filing to delete them, the Trump transition official said.
On Tuesday, the inauguration venture put out a new invitation, which stripped out all references of access to the incoming president and his immediate family, although Eric and Donald Trump Jr. remain listed as honorary co-chairmen.
The $1 million donors can attend a private reception "with VIPs and celebrities associated with the event," the invitation now says. And in place of the Eric and Donald Trump Jr. hunting and fishing trip, there's more generic mention of a "multi-day excursion for four guests."
Painter and Eisen -- the former White House counselors -- said part of the problem with these charity fundraisers is that the president-elect has yet to explain which of his family members will be involved in the government and which will stay at the helm of his international business empire.
They praised the Trumps for making quick adjustments after seeing bad press about the fundraising but said that doesn't eliminate the need for Trump to develop and follow hard-and-fast rules as previous presidents did.
"How many times are they going to have to stub their toe?" Eisen said. "If you continually have to reverse course and improvise, what is the point at which it becomes a sign of recklessness instead of willingness to do good will?"
Information for this article was contributed by Jonathan Lemire, Darlene Superville, Julie Pace, Laurie Kellman, Julie Bykowicz and Catherine Lucey of The Associated Press; and by Perry Stein of The Washington Post.
A Section on 12/21/2016