Lake County Councilman and County Republican Party Chairman Randy Niemeyer has been selected to serve on President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team participating in conference calls with Department of Transportation officials.
Niemeyer, who lost in his race against U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, in November, said he would likely be part of the transition team during the confirmation hearings of former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy as Secretary of Transportation.
“I ran for Congress because I want to serve my country. If I can serve my country in this way, I am happy to do so,” Niemeyer said.
As Trump’s second administration takes shape, former federal officials are noting differences in approach as candidates and appointees get up to speed.
Leslie Lenkowsky, professor emeritus of public affairs and philanthropic studies at Indiana University’s Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, said the strategy of presidential transition teams differs depending on the goals. of the new administration.
Trump’s transition team is unique in that this is his second non-consecutive term, which means “there’s not a lot of mystery among the senior leadership,” Lenkowsky said. His transition team also has the distinction of being headquartered in Mar-a-Lago, the Florida resort owned by Trump, instead of Washington DC, Lenkowsky said.
When selecting members of the transition team, Lenkowsky said Trump chose people who have been active in Republican Party politics, who have demonstrated some degree of loyalty to Trump and some expertise in the field. in which they work.
A member of the new administration contacted him to help with the Department of Transportation’s transition, Niemeyer said. The position is voluntary, Niemeyer said.
Niemeyer, who is also a small business owner and truck driver, said he can’t divulge many details about the work he does because he signed a nondisclosure agreement, but that he participated in a few conference calls with stakeholders from the Ministry of Health. Transportation.
During the calls, the team discussed reports, analyzes and legislative recommendations ahead of Duffy’s confirmation, he said.
“It’s about getting the basics done for them,” Niemeyer said. “I appreciated the calls we received.”
Transition team members are not paid for their work, Lenkowsky said. Typically, they must cover travel and accommodation costs as part of their work for the team, he said.
Sometimes transition team members sign formal agreements not to share their reports or information with the public, Lenkowsky said. For example, when he was on Reagan’s transition team, Lenkowsky said he signed documents that looked like a consulting agreement, he said.
Duffy served in the United States House of Representatives for almost nine years, from 2011 to 2019. He was a member of the Financial Services Committee and chairman of the Insurance and Housing Subcommittee. He left Congress in 2019 and is co-host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business. Duffy is a former lumberjack athlete and was featured on MTV’s “The Real World: Boston” in 1997. He met his wife, former “The Real World: San Francisco” actress Rachel Campos-Duffy, on the filming of the MTV show “Road”. Rules: All Stars” in 1998.
In his announcement for transportation secretary, Trump said Duffy would use his experience and relationships built over years in Congress “to maintain and rebuild our nation’s infrastructure and fulfill our mission to usher in the age gold of travel, with an emphasis on safety, efficiency, and innovation. Most importantly, it will significantly improve the travel experience for all Americans. »
Trump wanted Duffy to run for governor of Wisconsin in 2022, but Duffy refused, saying he had to take care of his nine children, including his youngest child who had a heart condition.
Niemeyer said Duffy would bring his experience working in Congress to the position of transportation secretary.
“I think he’s going to be fantastic at this job,” Niemeyer said.
The work done by a transition team could be influenced by whether new department secretaries have much experience in the field, Lenkowsky said. The less experience a new department secretary has, the more work the transition team must do, he said.
Niemeyer said he did not have direct contact with Trump while he was a member of the transition team.
“I’m a little player on the team. But it’s okay, I’m happy to contribute to the team,” Niemeyer said.
Lenkowsky served on the presidential transition teams of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.
Reagan’s transition team was highly organized, Lenkowsky said, which included creating smaller teams that reported to one manager, who reported to a steering group, who reported to the president.
While on Reagan’s transition team, Lenkowsky said he was part of a team handling international broadcast efforts like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Lenkowsky said he and another person met with agency officials, studied the records and wrote a 10-page report.
“We reported to one person, who reported to other people,” Lenkowsky said. “It was very hierarchical.”
On Bush’s transition team, Lenkowsky said he played a lesser role. Bush’s transition period was shorter because the results of the 2000 election were delayed until December, when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bush in a Florida vote recount case, a- he explained.
Even though Bush’s transition did not include the creation of secondary teams, Lenkowsky said Bush staffers reached out to various professionals to get their perspectives on issues the president should address.
Lenkowsky, who worked at AmeriCorps at the time, said he spoke with a person who would become a White House political staffer about what Bush could do to fulfill his campaign promise to mobilize “armies of compassion,” c ‘that is to say the volunteer groups of the country.
“I explained to him how they could use AmeriCorps to do this,” Lenkowsky said. “It was very informal. I had no sense of hierarchy.
Since Trump was elected, Marjorie Hershey, professor emeritus of political science at Indiana University Bloomington, said the decisions he has made have been based on emotions rather than policies.
“He’s not really used to paying attention to what other people have to say, because he’s never had to,” Hershey said. “Everything he does is more emotional than political.”
akukulka@post-trib.com
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