WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on Donald Trump’s transition to the presidency (all times EST):
8:45 a.m.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he’s not bothered by the telephone conversation between U.S. president-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Stoltenberg said Tuesday that “it is a very normal thing that president-elect Donald Trump speaks to world leaders, including of course the leader of Russia.”
He said “when we face many different security challenges, it is important to have a chance for political dialogue open with Russia. It is no contradiction between strong defense and political dialogue.”
But Stoltenberg said NATO “will never accept the violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and that is why we have responded as we have to the Russian aggression.”
The Kremlin says Putin and Trump discussed the “extremely unsatisfactory” state of U.S.-Russia relations and ways to “normalize ties.”
__
7:05 a.m.
Donald Trump’s former campaign manager says she’s not aware of any plan for the president-elect’s adult children and son-in-law to get top secret security clearances.
Kellyanne Conway tells NBC’s “Today” show she’s “not intimately aware” that such a move is afoot.
“You know, we’re filled with questions in the Trump transition and that’s logical,” she said. But she said any such “inquiries remain very informal.”
Conway also said Tuesday she was certain the Trump children “will be there to support their father in informal capacities.”
A transition official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he could not discuss personnel questions publicly, had said late Tuesday that Trump did not request that his children receive top security clearances and they had not started filling out paperwork for it.
__
6:45 a.m.
The potential awkwardness surrounding the transition from Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration to one led by Republican President-elect Donald Trump has prompted the internet to imagine some amusing chats between Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
One of the memes includes a picture of Biden clutching Obama’s hand in the Oval Office. The imagined conversation has Biden pleading with Obama, “don’t leave me with them.” Another joke has Biden asking Obama if he could put whoopee cushions under the chairs before Trump’s arrival at The White House. Another meme shows Biden looking at a computer, musing how he can throw everyone off “the White House Netflix account.”
Biden has been a frequent target for jokes among late night comics and satire publications like The Onion during his time in office.
__
3:25 a.m.
Sequestered in his Manhattan high-rise, President-elect Donald Trump is preparing to fill key foreign policy posts. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has emerged as the favorite to serve as secretary of state, a senior Trump official said.
Although Giuliani has little foreign policy experience, the official said there was no real competition for the job as the nation’s top diplomat. However, a second official cautioned that John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, remained in contention for the key post. Both officials requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the process by name.
The New York billionaire also was considering tapping Richard Grenell as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a move that would bring some experience and diversity to his nascent administration. Grenell, who served as U.S. spokesman at the U.N. under President George W. Bush, would be the first openly gay person to fill a Cabinet-level foreign policy post.