WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump’s transition to the White House (All times EST)
4:00 a.m.
President Barack Obama, who’s been complimented by President-elect Donald Trump for helping to smooth his transition to the White House, is criticizing Trump for saying he’ll shun daily intelligence briefings when he takes office.
Appearing Monday evening on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” Obama said that a president who isn’t getting the benefit of such regular briefings from the intelligence community is likely “flying blind” in managing national security issues for the country.
Trump said in a television interview Sunday that he wasn’t interested in getting daily intelligence briefings, a practice that’s been a fixture for chief executives of both parties for several years.
Obama also said the reason he’s ordered a wide-ranging probe into purported Russian hacking against the U.S. election process is to “really just gather all of the threats of the investigation.” He says notions of meddling in the campaign “was not a secret” before Election Day, Nov. 8, in the United States.
3:15 a.m.
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to lead the State Department, dismissing concerns about the businessman’s close ties to Russia and bringing a long public audition process to a conclusion.
Two people close to Trump’s transition team said Monday night that Trump had selected Tillerson. They insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the pick ahead of that announcement.
Trump was set to announce his nomination Tuesday morning. The selection could set him up for a potential fight with Congress over confirming Tillerson, who has connections with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Leading Republicans have already expressed anxieties about Tillerson, as they contend with intelligence assessments saying Russia interfered with the U.S. presidential election to help Trump.