President-elect Donald Trump waves to the crowd during a rally at Hy-Vee Hall, Thursday in Des Moines. AP WIREPHOTO
Trump was campaigning for Republican John Kennedy in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and then making another stop on his “thank you” tour in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a state that helped him prevail against Democrat Hillary Clinton in last month’s election.
On Thursday Trump met in Columbus, Ohio, with the victims of an attack by a knife-wielding Ohio State University student. By evening he was at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, alongside Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, his pick to be the next ambassador to China.
“The script is not yet written. We do not know what the page will read tomorrow. But for the first time in a long time we know the pages will be authored by each and every one of you,” Trump said at Des Moines’ Hy-Vee Hall, where he offered promises to heal a divided nation along with trademark boasts about the size of his victories.
While candidate Trump was often at odds with the establishment wing of his party, the incoming president has reason to consolidate any lingering factions within the party, most immediately in Louisiana.
Kennedy, the state treasurer, faces off Saturday against Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell, a Democrat, for the seat of retiring Republican Sen. David Vitter. Neither won a majority in the November primary, leading to the runoff. Polls have shown Kennedy with a comfortable lead.
Republicans will have a narrow 52-48 Senate majority next year if they maintain the Louisiana seat. Trump has backed Kennedy and Vice President-elect Mike Pence campaigned for him last week in New Orleans, saying a Kennedy win would “put an exclamation point at the end of a great American victory in 2016.”
Yet even as he professes unity, Trump’s Cabinet announcements have drawn harsh criticism from Democrats.
Trump’s selection Wednesday of fast-food executive Andrew Puzder to lead the Labor Department was panned by workers’ rights organizations and labor unions. Puzder, who heads CKE Restaurants Holdings, the parent of Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s and other chains, brings yet another wealthy business person and elite donor into his administration-in-the-making.
Trump said in a statement that as labor secretary, Puzder will “save small businesses from the crushing burdens of unnecessary regulations that are stunting job growth and suppressing wages.” He later defended his decision to stack his Cabinet with the extremely wealthy, saying in Des Moines: “I want people who have made a fortune! Now they’re negotiating for you!”
But the choice could lead to a confirmation fight.
“American families need a Labor Department that stands up for workers’ wages, retirement security and safety, not one focused on reducing their pay. Andy Puzder has a long record of fighting against the wages of working families,” said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California.
Trump has selected retired Marine Gen. John Kelly to head the Department of Homeland Security, according to people close to the transition; he officially picked Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a climate-change denier whose policies have helped fossil fuel companies, as head of the Environmental Protection Agency; and he named the former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment, Linda McMahon, to head the Small Business Administration.
Pruitt, whose selection demoralized some environmentalists and Democrats, came not long after Trump met with former Vice President Al Gore.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
