Donald Trump’s transition team hits major snags

President-elect Donald Trump’s transition to the White House is running into its first major snags, with former Rep. Mike Rogers abruptly quitting as a national security adviser Tuesday and top ally Ben Carson saying he has no interest in a cabinet slot.

Democrats, meanwhile, are raising questions about the transition team’s reportedly asking about security clearances for Mr. Trump’s adult children, saying there are possible conflicts of interest if they end up entrusted with state secrets while being dispatched to run the family business.

And Republicans began to pick fights with Mr. Trump over the direction of his foreign policy, with one senator warning against adventurism and another cautioning against getting too cozy with Russia.

For his part, Mr. Trump huddled with Vice President-elect Mike Pence in New York, trying to fill out their Cabinet. They are hoping to reward loyal supporters while also fulfilling their promise of breaking with the Washington establishment.

Mr. Rogers, a former chairman of the House intelligence committee rumored to be a possible CIA Director in a Trump administration, abruptly exited the transition team Tuesday, though he expressed confidence in the process going forward.

“I think this is just kind of the natural occurrence of a campaign,” he said on CNN. “Is there a little confusion in New York right yet? I think there is, but I think this is growing pains, and once they integrate people who have been doing it with people in New York I think you’ll see a smoother transition.”

Mr. Rogers has vast knowledge of the U.S. intelligence community and the Trump team simply decided to go in another direction, said Dave Yonkman, a former Rogers spokesman who now runs a public relations firm.

“The Trump transition folks simply have different preferences and objectives in mind that require someone with an alternative set of skills and talents,” Mr. Yonkman said.

Mr. Carson also took himself out of the running for a possible cabinet post Tuesday.

Mr. Pence, who met with Mr. Trump at Trump Tower, waved off reporters’ questions about the chaotic personnel process, but retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who is in charge of the transition on the defense side, said the process is going “great.”

Also meeting with Mr. Trump in New York Tuesday was Sen. Ted Cruz, Mr. Trump’s top rival for the Republican presidential nomination who has carved out an outsider reputation on Capitol Hill since first winning election in 2012.

So far Mr. Trump has named only a chief of staff, current Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, and a chief strategist, campaign CEO Stephen K. Bannon.

Top posts such as national security adviser and the secretaries of defense, treasury and state remain unfilled — and the battles over who gets them are reportedly getting heated.

Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, urged Mr. Trump to drop former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton and former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani from the list of potential State Department chiefs.

Mr. Paul said both men have been “cheerleaders” for the Iraq War and interventionism in the Middle East that Mr. Trump railed against during the campaign.

“I think Trump should pick a secretary of state that agrees with his foreign policy,” Mr. Paul said Tuesday on CNN.

From the more hawkish side of the Republican Party, Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain warned Mr. Trump to be wary of a “reset” in relations between the United States and Vladimir Putin, saying the Russian president can’t be trusted.

Congressional Democrats have said Mr. Trump’s early transition moves are worrying.

They’ve demanded he oust Mr. Bannon from the strategist’s post, and on Tuesday the top Democrat on the House oversight committee demanded answers after reports that the transition team asked about getting security clearances for Mr. Trump’s adult children: Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka.

The three children, along with Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, are part of the transition team. Mr. Trump has said in the past he would let his kids run his business empire if he got elected.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, Maryland Democrat, said if Mr. Trump’s children have access to secret information, it could give them an unfair business advantage.

Kellyanne Conway, the former Trump campaign manager who is now part of the transition team, dismissed fears over the children, saying whatever inquiries the campaign may have made about security clearances were informal.

“I am sure that the Trump children will be there to support their father in informal capacities, and I think these are just regular inquiries among many that are made when folks are transitioning into a new administration — for the Trump family, a new city,” she said on NBC’s “Today” program.