President-elect Donald Trump has announced his picks for three top posts, including national security adviser, attorney general and leader of the Central Intelligence Agency.
His picks include:
- Retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, 57, as national security adviser
- Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, 69, as attorney general
- Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo, 52, to lead the Central Intelligence Agency
So just who are these men chosen to lead? Here are some quick facts:
JEFF SESSIONS: ATTORNEY GENERAL PICK
- EARLY TRUMP FAN: Sessions is good at making predictions. The Alabama Republican was the first senator to endorse Trump in February, and one of his key aides left to become a senior policy adviser to Trump. But Sessions seemed to be in line with Trump long before, he famously wore a “Make America Great Again” hat at a Trump rally in August, 2015 and praised Trump for his immigration plan.
- ALABAMA U.S. ATTORNEY: Sessions was the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Alabama for 12 years (from 1981 to 1993) and then became the state attorney general in 1995 until he entered the Senate in 1997.
- JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Sessions is a top member on the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Chairman of the subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest. Sessions has been a senator for Alabama since 1997 and the junior United States senator.
- FAILED TO BE CONFIRMED AS A FEDERAL JUDGE: Sessions was nominated to be a federal judge in 1986, but it was knocked down by the Senate Judiciary Committee over comments he had made that some people deemed racially insensitive. Sessions has adamantly denied the accusations.
- IMMIGRATION HARDLINER: Sessions is known for his tough stance on immigration. He strongly opposed the 2013 immigration bill created by the bipartisan “Gang of Eight,” which the Senate passed in 2013. He offered up a series of amendments of his own in an attempt to derail the bill.
- TED CRUZ ALLY: Sessions’ endorsement of Trump was a major blow to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (who at the time was still in the race). The two made a fierce team of opposition to the “Gang of Eight “ immigration bill, and are a pair of the most conservative members of Congress. Cruz often touted his alliance with Sessions on the campaign trail.
MICHAEL FLYNN: NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER PICK
- HIS TENURE AS DIA DIRECTOR ENDED EARLY: Highly regarded in the military and intelligence communities, he was dismissed by President Barack Obama from the Pentagon’s top intelligence job in late 2014 for his combative style.
- WAS A TOP INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL IN IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN: He was the top intelligence official in Iraq and Afghanistan during the height of the American involvement in the wars there. He is credited with helping to develop a system to exploit information captured on battlefields and using it to hunt down terrorists and destroy their networks. He is credited with helping to develop a system to exploit information captured on battlefields and using it to hunt down terrorists and destroy their networks.He’s been a critical force shaping Trump’s world view that the United States is at war with “radical Islamic terrorism,” which stands in contrast to Obama, who’s warned against framing the war on terror along religious lines. Flynn has even stated that Islam is not a religion, rather a political ideology.
- REGISTERED DEMOCRAT: He's a Democrat who was critical of Hillary Clinton during the campaign. His name was suggested as a possible running mate to Trump before the selection of Mike Pence.
- HAS TAKEN DIFFERENT POSITIONS ON ABORTION: Flynn told ABC News that "women have to be able to choose ... fort of, the right of choice. They are the ones that have to make the decision because they’re the ones that are going to decide to bring up that child or not.” However, he CNN later reported that he called himself a "pro-life Democrat," saying current court standings should be reversed.
- LOOSE TIES WITH RUSSIA: Last year, Flynn took a paid speaking engagement last year with Russia Today, a television network funded by the Kremlin, and sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the network’s lavish anniversary party in Moscow. Flynn’s loose ties to Russia and lobbying by his consulting group, the Flynn Intel Group, on behalf of Turkish interests, as reported by Politico, may have created difficulties if Trump had nominated him to an official Cabinet position. The national security adviser role does not require Senate confirmation.
MIKE POMPEO: CIA DIRECTOR PICK
- GRADUATED FIRST IN WEST POINT CLASS: According to his own bio page, Pompeo graduated first in his class from West Point in 1986. He then "served as a cavalry officer patrolling the Iron Curtain before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He also served with the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry in the Fourth Infantry Division."
- MEMBER OF BENGHAZI COMMITTEE: In a column written with another member of the committee, Jim Jordan, Pompeo said they concluded "the Obama administration misled the American public about the events in Benghazi" and that "security in Benghazi was inadequate given the risk to the facility." They also wrote that "Secretary Clinton had missed the last clear chance to protect her people."
- OUTSPOKEN CRITIC OF OBAMACARE: In a column written for USA Today in 2013, Pompeo said Democrats were now joining Republicans in their concerns over the Affordable Care Act. He called the politicians a "Train Wreck Club."
- BACKED SEN. MARCO RUBIO: While he is a close ally of Vice President-elect Mike Pence, Pompeo backed Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., over Trump in the Republican primary.
- OPPOSES CLOSURE OF GUANTANAMO BAY: Pompeo is an outspoken critic of the Obama administration's efforts to close Guantanamo Bay. In a release posted to his site, he said the closure would "put Kansans and Americans in danger." While Obama has sworn to close the prison, during his campaign, Trump vowed to keep it open and "load it up with some bad dudes."
- HARVARD GRAUDATE: Pompeo graduated from Harvard after his military service. He now serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
