Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on Wednesday said he would like to serve as “chief planner” in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
Gingrich has been a top surrogate for Trump during his presidential campaign and is rumored to be in line for a top role in his administration. He was on the short list for Trump’s vice presidential picks, but the real estate mogul ultimately chose Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate.
“I want to be able to work strategically,” Gingrich said in an interview with Fox radio host John Gibson, according to BuzzFeed, adding that he wants to “get an American government into the 21st century” and “make it responsive to the American people.”
Trump’s victory shocked Washington and the world early Wednesday morning. Polls suggested that Democrat Hillary Clinton enjoyed a small but persistent lead across a number of battleground states.
Now, the president-elect will be tasked with filling roles in his new administration and Cabinet. In the Wednesday interview, Gingrich noted that Trump will be confronted with whether to “manage the current government” or “profoundly change it.”
“I sort of think I know where he’s going to go, but it’s a different thing to be the president-elect than to be the candidate,” Gingrich said.
“He’s going to realize tomorrow when he walks into that White House that he’s about to have the burden of the whole country—and to some extent the whole world—on his shoulders.”