From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Trump considering Blackstone exec for trade rep
President-elect Donald Trump is considering major Republican fundraiser Wayne Berman as the US Trade Representative.
That’s according to two people with knowledge of the discussions.
Berman is a senior adviser at the Blackstone Group and was a strong supporter of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s failed 2016 presidential campaign. He served in the Commerce Department during President George H.W. Bush’s administration.
Trump made his opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact and other multilateral trade deals a central part of his campaign. He’s pledged to negotiate bilateral trade agreements, work that would fall in part to the trade representative.
The people with knowledge of the discussions insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the internal deliberations.
— AP
The Times of Israel Community.