New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s removal from leadership of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team came after battles with Trump’s son-in-law, Politico reported Friday night.
{mosads}Trump on Friday announced that Christie would be replaced as head of the campaign’s transition team by Vice President-elect Mike Pence.
The announcement also noted that three of Trump’s children would be on the transition team, as well as Jared Kushner, husband of Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump.
Kushner’s rocky relationship with Christie and prominence in the Trump family inner circle helped lead to Christie’s removal, the report said.
Reports emerged in June that Kushner had opposed choosing Christie as Trump’s running mate. Christie denied that he and Kushner were feuding at the time.
Christie prosecuted Kushner’s father, Charles Kushner, in 2004 when he served as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. The elder Kushner pleaded guilty to “crimes of greed, power, and excess,” according to the New York Times.
Sources told Politico that Christie’s aides clashed with Kushner in recent days.
“The Christie people are from New Jersey, they act like they’re in charge, and Jared Kushner is like, ‘You’re not really in charge,’ ” the source said.
Trump communications adviser Jason Miller told Politico that the changes were reflective of a team planning to work for the American people and to change Washington.
“Anybody seeing today’s news about the appointment of Vice President-elect Mike Pence to run the Presidential Transition Team realizes that President-elect Donald J. Trump is serious about changing Washington whether the town likes it or not,” he said.
“This might ruffle the delicate sensitivities of the well-heeled two-martini lunch set, but President-elect Trump isn’t fighting for them, he’s fighting for the hard-working men and women outside the Beltway who don’t care for insider bickering,” Miller added.