President-elect Donald Trump is going after The New York Times again.

In a series of tweets Wednesday, Trump attacked a Times story about firings and infighting that have left his transition team in a "state of disarray" -- reporting backed up by CNN and other major news organizations.

"The failing @nytimes story is so totally wrong on transition," Trump tweeted. "It is going so smoothly. Also, I have spoken to many foreign leaders."

The Times story also described revelations that American allies were "blindly dialing in to Trump Tower to try to reach the soon-to-be-leader of the free world."

Related: President-elect Trump's Sunday morning tweetstorm at the New York Times

During his Twitter tear, the president-elect said he had taken calls from "many foreign leaders." He also claimed the Times "is just upset that they looked like fools in their coverage of me."

Trump's latest feud with the Times follows a Twitter rant Sunday in which he claimed that the newspaper "is losing thousands of subscribers because of their very poor and highly inaccurate coverage of the 'Trump phenomena.'"

Trump did not cite evidence to back up that claim, and the Times shot it down. The newspaper's parent company, in a tweet responding to Trump, said new subscriptions are surging. Stock in the Times' parent company has climbed 9% since Election Day.

Media outlets have expressed widespread concern about the lack of access to Trump. On Tuesday night, he took his family a New York restaurant for dinner, and the so-called press pool, which is meant to be the public's eyes on the president-elect, was not notified.

CNN's Sara Murray told Anderson Cooper on Tuesday night that this "appears to be yet another misunderstanding of exactly how much gravity his new title as president-elect holds. If something, God forbid, were to happen to him, that's a matter not only of public record but also a matter of national security, given that he is next in line to take the White House."</s>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described Donald Trump as a “trustworthy leader” after meeting the U.S. president-elect on Thursday to get clarity on statements Trump had made while campaigning that had caused concern about the alliance.

Abe, speaking after the hastily arranged 90-minute meeting at Trump Tower in Manhattan, reporters: “The talks made me feel sure that we can build a relationship of trust.” But he would not disclose specifics because the conversation was unofficial.

Trump, in a brief entry on his Facebook page accompanied by a photo of the two men, said: “It was a pleasure to have Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stop by my home and begin a great friendship.”

Japan’s leadership has been nervous about the future of an alliance that is core to Tokyo’s diplomacy and security.

Trump had fanned worries in Tokyo and beyond with comments on the possibility of Japan acquiring nuclear arms, demands that allies pay more for keeping U.S. forces on their soil or face their possible withdrawal, and his opposition to the U.S.-led 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade pact.

Abe had worked closely with President Barack Obama on the TPP trade pact, which was part of Obama’s push to counter the rising strength of China and a pillar of Abe’s economic reforms.

“Alliances cannot function without trust. I am now confident that President-elect Trump is a trustworthy leader,” said Abe, describing the talks as “candid” and held in a “warm atmosphere”.

Abe gave Trump a golf driver and received golf-wear in return, Japanese officials said.

Photographs taken inside the ornate meeting room at Trump Tower showed Abe accompanied only by an interpreter and Trump by his daughter Ivanka, her husband and Trump adviser Jared Kushner, and Retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn whom a senior Trump official said on Thursday had been offered the national security adviser position.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe addresses media following a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 17, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

COMMON GROUND

Abe said he had agreed to meet again with Trump “at a convenient time to cover a wider area in greater depth.”

It was unclear if that would happen before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. Trump official Kellyanne Conway told CBS earlier on Thursday that “any deeper conversations about policy and the relationship between Japan and the United States will have to wait until after the inauguration.”

Back in Tokyo, Finance Minister Taro Aso commented: “The meeting ran longer than planned, which means that they were on the same wavelength and it went well.”

Some of Trump’s campaign rhetoric suggested an image of Japan forged in the 1980s, when Tokyo was seen by many in the United States as a threat to jobs and a free-rider on defense.

A Trump adviser who spoke earlier in the week, however, stressed a more positive view and credited Abe with making changes.

“Frankly, the prime minister has been more assertive and forthright in trying to make those changes to Japan’s global posture,” he said.

Trump, a brash billionaire real estate magnate, and Abe, a political blue blood, share a stated desire to raise their countries’ global standing and both have support from right-wing constituencies.

Abe has boosted Japan’s overall defense spending since taking office in 2012. He has also stretched the limits of its pacifist postwar constitution to allow the military to take a bigger global role. Japan’s defense spending, though, still stands at just over 1 percent of GDP compared with more than 3 percent in the United States.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is taken in a motorcade to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 17, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Abe was expected to see Obama at an Asia-Pacific summit in Peru on the weekend. Hours before Abe and Trump met, Obama’s secretary of state, John Kerry, and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met in Lima to discuss the Paris climate accord - a deal Trump has pledged to exit.

Diplomats and analysts say that however good the atmospherics, it will be hard to assess Trump’s policies on security issues ranging from overseas deployments of U.S. troops, China’s maritime assertiveness and the North Korean nuclear threat until Trump makes key appointments.</s>As President-elect Donald Trump talks normalization of relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Republicans in Congress are moving to stake out a tough stance against Russia.

The effort started with the House passing a bill to sanction anyone who supports the Syrian government in the ongoing civil war there. And a range of lawmakers — including Trump allies and other Republicans — are preparing other possible measures, arguing that the United States should be taking a harder line against a country and a leader they view as a dangerous threat.

"[Trump] wants to reset with Russia. Maybe he can do it, but here's my view about Russia: They're a bad actor in the world, they need to be reined in," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Tuesday, adding that it would be up to Congress to let Russia "know the rules of the road pretty early," even under a friendlier Trump administration.

"I think [Russia] should pay a price heavier than they're paying now for what they're doing in Syria and in eastern Europe," Graham added. "I will consult with my colleagues what there is appetite for."

Graham isn't the only Trump critic who came out swinging on Tuesday on Russian involvement in global affairs. His close friend and colleague Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that "the price of another 'reset' [with Russia] would be complicity in Putin and Assad's butchery of the Syrian people. That is an unacceptable price for a great nation."

But with Trump on his way into the White House, lawmakers worry statements won't be enough to prevent the United States from adopting a softer stance on Moscow. So they are preparing a battery of legislative measures to hold the line against Russia, regardless of what the president-elect tries to do.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Corker, R-Tenn. — who has been mentioned as a secretary of state candidate in a Trump administration — said "there's going to be much more opportunity for bipartisan passage" of bills pertaining to Russia, saying lawmakers "plan to be aggressive" as they move toward the new year.

Corker and other Republicans argued that some of the concerns regarding Trump's foreign policy statements during the campaign — including his commitment to NATO — were overwrought.

"I think there's been an evolution on the focus of NATO," Corker said, citing President Obama's recent comments that he believes Trump will keep the United States' commitment to NATO.

But Republicans are still driving bills through Congress that take direct aim at Russia.

On Tuesday, the House passed a bill imposing mandatory sanctions on anyone that financially, economically, or technologically supports Syria's government in the civil war there — a category that chiefly includes Russia and Iran. Trump's supporters didn't stand in the way, and the measure was passed unanimously.

"Regardless of perspectives on Syria, there's some unanimity of opinion in sending a message on this kind of conduct," House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., said prior to the vote.

The legislation isn't likely to pass the Senate before the end of the year. But senators are already planning their next steps in the new Congress against Russia — including sanctions and potentially then some.

Royce suggested Trump's campaign rhetoric on NATO was simply a "very successful negotiating tactic" that he expected would help get NATO and other allies "to pay their share of the burden" of defense.

Graham promised "a package that would help our Eastern European allies better deal with the threats they face from Russia" that includes broad defense aid "to make it harder for Russia to advance beyond where they are today."

Graham also said he hoped to hold "a series of hearings about Russia's misadventures throughout the world," focusing on propaganda in the Baltic States, aggressive behavior in Georgia and Ukraine, and Moscow's track record of cyber attacks on U.S. allies and, recently, on the United States itself — through hacks on the Democratic National Committee and other political organizations and officials.

Republican foreign policy leaders had expressed interest in holding hearings on Russian meddling in the U.S. elections before the pre-election recess, but those plans fell apart — under pressure, a report from The Daily Beast alleged, from GOP leaders who didn't want to give Democrats a chance to investigate connections between Moscow and the Trump campaign right before the election.

"We cannot sit on the sidelines as a party and let allegations against a foreign government interfering in our election process go unanswered because it may have been beneficial to our goals for the moment," Graham said Tuesday.

In the House, Royce also said he would be interested in investigating Russia's connection to the hacking incidents.

"I would hope that all federal agencies are investigating," Royce said. "If we can get evidence, it's very worthwhile to pursue any information we have."

If Republicans put forward bills to restrain Russia over hacking and on other fronts, they will likely have support from Democrats.

"Whether it's an attack on us by MIGs or by mouse, frankly it requires a response," said Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Ben Cardin, D-Md.

Cardin wants Obama to take more action to censure or sanction Russia before departing office. But he is also planning his own "comprehensive" legislation to address Russia, which he said would encompass "sanctions, plus more than that."

"I don't look at Russia as a partner, I look at it as a bully, and a country that has interfered with so many other countries," he added, citing Russia's conduct in Ukraine, and recent bombings in Syria that are "preventing us from resolving a civil war, dealing with humanitarian needs, and concentrating on ISIS."

Cardin expects Republicans will get on board with his plans.

"I do believe there is bipartisan support in Congress for policies that are not consistent at all with what [Trump] says," Cardin said. "I think my Republican colleagues agree with me, not with President-elect Trump . . . we have a lot of active members on both sides of the aisle that are prepared to work together on Russia to get the right bill enacted."</s>US president-elect Donald Trump stepped up his takeover planning with new rules governing the involvement of lobbyists in his new administration, a flurry of meetings with potential cabinet members and even a key White House role for his son-in-law.

Under Mr Trump’s plans to “drain the swamp” of Washington politics, his team said that they would only appoint lobbyists if they agreed to a five-year ban on becoming a lobbyist after leaving government and a lifetime ban on working for foreign governments.

The measures, described as “true forward-thinking change” by Republican national committee chief strategist Sean Spicer, were announced after days of upheaval and infighting within the Trump camp.

The New York Times reported that Jared Kushner (35), Mr Trump’s son-in-law and a close adviser to the businessman during his campaign, was exploring whether he could join his father-in-law as a close confidant in his White House.

Mr Kushner, husband of Mr Trump’s daughter Ivanka, consulted lawyers to see whether he would circumvent anti-nepotism rules by foregoing a government salary and placing his various business interests, including his investment, his properties and his newspaper, the New York Observer, in a blind trust.

Mr Trump’s Trump Tower headquarters in Manhattan on Thursday was a hub of activity with a strong media presence in the skyscraper’s golden lobby watching for any appearances that might offer pointers to his cabinet appointees.

Fuelling speculation that the next president may be trying to build a “team of rivals”, it was reported that former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, one of Mr Trump’s harshest critics, will meet him at the weekend to discuss the new administration and a possible cabinet role .

Among those meeting the soon-to-be 45th US president were South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, a one-time strong supporter of Trump presidential rival Marco Rubio, and Texas congressman Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the House financial services committee whose name has been linked to the role of US treasury secretary in the Trump administration.

Another high-profile visitor to Mr Trump was US secretary of state during the Nixon administration, Henry Kissinger, to discuss China, Russia, Iran, the European Union and other issues.

They spoke ahead of Mr Trump’s meeting with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, the first world leader to meet the president-elect in person and the 32nd leader that he has spoken with since the election.

Mr Abe is said to be concerned about Mr Trump’s campaign rhetoric when he raised doubts about the commitment of Japan’s most important ally to protecting its interests in Asia against a more volatile North Korea and aggressive China. The businessman suggested during the campaign that he might withdraw the 50,000 American troops stationed in Japan unless the US received more financial support from Tokyo.

At the US Capitol, House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi raised her party’s concerns during a meeting with vice president-elect Mike Pence over Mr Trump’s appointment of Steve Bannon, head of the “alt-right” Breitbart News, a website embraced by white supremacists, as his chief strategist.

After one of his Capitol Hill meetings, House Republicans tweeted a photograph of Mr Pence taking a selfie with them next to the word “unified” as they were in a celebratory mood after the party’s big election wins last week. US media criticised the party’s lack of diversity with only white faces in the photograph.

Still appearing to be coming to terms with her shock defeat, Hillary Clinton made her first public appearance since conceding to Mr Trump last week. In a speech at a charity gala for the Children’s Defence Fund, she made an emotional appeal to her supporters to “never give up” and to “stay engaged” in politics.

“I will admit coming here tonight wasn’t the easiest thing for me,” she said. “There have been a few times this past week when all I wanted to do is just to curl up with a good book, or our dogs, and never leave the house again.”

Ms Clinton acknowledged that many supporters were “deeply disappointed” by the election result. “I am too, more than I can ever express,” she said. “I know this isn’t easy. I know that over the past week, a lot people have asked themselves whether America was the country we thought it was.”</s>Hang on for a minute...we're trying to find some more stories you might like. Close

I feel dreadful regarding the results of this election because I know America’s future, my future, is not as bright and secure as it should be.

I am embarrassed by Donald Trump’s victory because I know the rest of the world is watching the United States wondering how we let this happen.

However, I am now more determined than ever to fight the consequences that come with a Trump presidency and to never let this happen again.

As Americans, we allowed a racist, sexist reality TV star with zero experience take the highest position of leadership in our country. We decided to let a more-than-capable woman, with 30 years of experience in politics, lose against that man.

Nov. 9, 2016 is not a day I will forget easily. It was a day that I shed many tears once I saw Hillary Clinton lose Florida. It was a day I had to console my friends far and near about the results, even though I was feeling no better myself. Nov. 9 was the day that I heard my former high school had students screaming “white power” down its hallways.

As an 18-year-old black woman with foreign parents, currently seeking a college education, Nov. 9 was the worst day of my life.

By electing Trump, Americans opened the door for dangerous ideologies and rhetoric. By electing Trump, those Americans who had previously hidden their racist and sexist thoughts now feel that it is okay to express them. They now see that if an ignorant man can be elected president without consequences, then they can speak their mind without consequences.

The dread I felt after Trump was elected is not a feeling that will go away, not even in four years when we can elect a new president. The fear I felt that someone would harass me while I walk around campus is one that will not disappear regardless of where I am.

Some say to give Trump a chance, that perhaps he might make a great president.

However, my only question is this: When did Trump give Hispanics a chance when he called them rapists? When did Trump give Muslims a chance when he said he wanted to ban them from entering the country?

There is not a point in his campaign that Trump gave them a chance. Therefore, I will never give him a chance. I will never consider him my president.

All those votes that placed Trump in office are all votes against me.</s>NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump, a foreign policy novice, was deepening his focus on national security Thursday, meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as well as a former secretary of state and a possible contender to be his top diplomat.

Trump also rolled out new teams that will interact with the State Department, Pentagon, Justice Department and other national security agencies. The move is a crucial part of the government transition before Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration.

In Washington, Vice President-elect Mike Pence huddled with House Republicans on Capitol Hill and also planned to meet with Democratic leaders. Lawmakers said part of Pence's mission was to tell fellow Republicans that the transition effort was proceeding smoothly, despite reports of chaos and infighting.

[TRUMP: Timeline of president-elect’s career + list of appointments so far]

"He just wanted to reassure that the team is working hard and they're working toward an agenda to do what's right for the American people," said Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Ohio.

Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said she expected initial announcements of Cabinet choices to come "either before or after Thanksgiving" and told MSNBC's Morning Joe program: "It's Donald Trump and Donald Trump alone who makes the ultimate decisions."

Trump planned to meet Thursday in New York with Abe, his first get-together with a world leader as president-elect. He was also meeting with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who is said to be among Trump's potential picks to lead the State Department.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling were also scheduled to meet with Trump.</s>New York (CNN) President-elect Donald Trump will meet this weekend with one of his fiercest critics: 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney, a senior Republican source told CNN on Thursday.

The two men are set to meet this weekend to discuss "governing moving forward" and potentially a role for Romney in Trump's Cabinet, the source said.

The source declined to specify for which Cabinet positions Romney is under consideration.

The meeting is the latest in a series of Trump's conversations and encounters with Republicans who did not support his candidacy in an effort to reunite the GOP following a divisive election that fractured party leaders past the Republican primary and into the general election.

It also comes as Trump has a jam-packed schedule Thursday and the President-elect's team looks to tamp down reports of disarray and infighting within the transition effort, which has been slow to ramp up following Trump's shocking upset victory last week.

A Romney appointment would be a startling shift in the two men's relationship.

Trump, who endorsed Romney in 2012, repeatedly slammed the former GOP standard bearer during his ultimately successful bid for the a Republican nomination for his defeat to President Barack Obama, describing him in characteristically colorful terms as a failure. Romney returned fire, repeatedly and forcefully arguing that Trump was not qualified to serve as commander-in-chief.

In an eviscerating speech last March, before Trump clinched the Republican nomination, Romney slammed Trump as a "con man," a "phony" and "a fraud."

Romney refused to endorse Trump in the general election. He argued In favor of allowing the Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson onto the debate stage, but did not endorse him either.

Romney also actively sought to recruit a third-party candidate to carry the conservative banner into the 2016 general election and continued to level heated criticism against Trump in the general election.

In a June interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Romney warned that Trump's presidency could usher in "trickle-down racism."

Romney and Trump's meeting will come a week after Romney called to congratulate Trump on his victory, a call Trump tweeted was "very nice!"

Packed schedule to show transition is on track

Trump is meeting Thursday with more than a half-dozen potential candidates for top administration posts, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

Trump's transition spokesmen also announced Thursday he will name members of the so-called "landing team" of transition officials to work with US officials at the departments of State, Defense Justice and the the National Security Council.

Concerns about the slow pace of the transition effort have grown in recent days as US officials at various agencies said they had still not yet established contact with the Trump transition team.

Following the national security landing team announcement Friday, the transition team will also announce early next week the names of individuals who will lead the transition with economic agencies and domestic policy agencies and groups, RNC communications director Sean Spicer said on a conference call with reporters Thursday.

In the eight days since Trump's victory, the President-elect replaced New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as chairman of the transition with Vice President-elect Mike Pence and a slew of transition officials who worked under Christie were subsequently booted from the transition effort.

Trump is also scheduled to meet with his transition team for two hours on Friday to discuss their progress and go over potential appointments, Trump spokesman Jason Miller said Thursday.

"My transition team, which is working long hours and doing a fantastic job, will be seeing many great candidates today. #MAGA," Trump tweeted.

Miller declined Thursday to provide a timetable for cabinet appointments, stressing that the focus is on "getting it right," rather than an "arbitrary timetable," echoing the comments of senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway.

"In the words of Vice President Biden just yesterday after meeting with Mr. Pence, nobody should expect the government to be formed overnight," Conway said Thursday morning on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "Nobody is in a rush to do the wrong thing."

Trump will seek ideas on his administration from nine "top shelf people" he is set to meet with Thursday at Trump Tower, some of whom Miller said are "up for cabinet positions" -- though he did not specify which ones.

Trump has announced RNC chairman Reince Priebus as White House chief of staff and his campaign CEO Steve Bannon as chief strategist and senior counselor.

As he focuses on filling key national security posts, Trump will seek the counsel of 93-year-old former Secretary of State Kissinger. Trump met with Kissinger for a private meeting in May, but the hawkish former secretary of state has also advised Trump's presidential rival Hillary Clinton, who said she "relied on his counsel" during her time helming the State Department.

Trump will also meet with Nikki Haley, the South Carolina governor who was deeply critical of Trump during the Republican primary, who is under consideration for the secretary of state post and other cabinet positions, according to a transition source.

And continuing with the national security bend of the day, Trump will also meet with Adm. Mike Rogers, the current director of the National Security Agency, and Gen Jack Keane, a retired four star general who advised Clinton in recent years.

The President-elect will also meet with a pair of Fortune 500 CEOs, Oracle's Safra Catz and FedEx's Fred Smith, as well as Cincinnati Mayor Ken Blackwell and Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling, who is under consideration to helm the Treasury Department.

Trump is also set to meet Thursday in New York with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the first foreign head of state Trump will have met with in person since becoming president-elect.

The Japanese prime minister is set to deliver remarks to the press following the meeting, and his remarks will be an important indication of how the US-Japan relationship will unfold under a Trump administration.

On the stump, Trump repeatedly argued that Japan should pay a larger share of the costs for US military bases on its soil and even suggested the country should shoulder a greater burden of its defense against the aggressive actions of North Korea and provocations from China.</s>Syrian President Bashar Assad says that US President-elect Donald Trump could be a "natural ally" to the Damascus government in its civil war.</s>Donald Trump sought to reassure nervous leaders around the globe with his most public foray into foreign policy since the election, welcoming Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Trump Tower on Thursday. On Capitol Hill, his incoming vice president aimed to project unity at home.

Trump’s face-to-face meeting late Thursday with Abe was his first with a world leader since last week’s vote, after consulting with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and sitting down with South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a potential contender to lead the State Department.

In Washington, Vice President-elect Mike Pence huddled with Republican leaders in Congress. He then met with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer, the newly elected leader of the Senate Democrats, seeking to convey respect as Democrats prepare for Republican rule of both chambers and the White House for the first time in a decade.

“We look forward to finding ways that we can find common ground and move the country forward,” Pence said outside Schumer’s Senate office.

In a separate gesture of reconciliation with establishment Republicans, Trump planned to meet with 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who had lambasted Trump as a “con man” and a “fraud” in a stinging speech in March. Trump responded by repeatedly referring to Romney as a “loser.”

The two began mending fences after Trump’s victory when Romney called with congratulations. They are to meet this weekend, a transition official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss Trump’s schedule publicly. Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said they were still “working on” the meeting.

Trump’s actions Thursday aimed to show leaders both in the U.S. and overseas that he could soften his rhetoric, offer pragmatism in the White House and reaffirm long-standing American alliances. Since his stunning victory over Hillary Clinton last week, Trump has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister Theresa May and nearly three dozen other world leaders by telephone. But Abe’s visit to Trump’s midtown Manhattan high-rise was his first in-person meeting with a foreign leader since the end of the campaign.

Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, also visited the skyscraper and called Trump “a true friend of Israel.” He specifically cited as another “friend” Trump campaign CEO Steve Bannon, whose selection as a top White House adviser has created a backlash among Democrats. Bannon’s news website has peddled conspiracy theories, white nationalism and anti-Semitism.

“We look forward to working with the Trump administration, with all the members of the Trump administration, including Steve Bannon, in making the U.S.-Israel alliance stronger than ever,” Dermer said.

Trump, a reality television star, business mogul and political newcomer, also rolled out new teams that will interact with the State Department, Pentagon, Justice Department and other national security agencies. The move is part of the government transition before Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.

One potential Cabinet member, Eva Moskowitz, said had taken herself out of the running to become education secretary. Moskowitz, a Democrat and advocate for charter schools, met with Trump this week, stoking speculation that she might inject a bit of bipartisanship in the new administration.

Moskowitz, who voted for Clinton, suggested there were “positive signs” that Trump might govern differently than he campaigned, but she wrote in a letter to parents that many of her students, who are overwhelmingly black and Latino, would feel that “they are the target of the hatred that drove Trump’s campaign.”

Conway said she expected initial announcements of Cabinet choices to come “before or right after Thanksgiving,” telling reporters Trump he was “loving” the transition. “He’s a transactional guy. He’s somebody who’s used to delivering results and producing.”

Trump’s transition team finally finished key paperwork clearing the way for the White House to start sharing information. Coordination had been on hold until Trump’s team submitted documents including a list of transition team members who will coordinate with specific federal agencies, plus certification that they meet a code of conduct barring conflicts of interest.

White House spokeswoman Brandi Hoffine said the minimum paperwork was finished Thursday, meaning agencies could start providing briefings and written materials to Trump’s team. Indeed, the departments of State, Defense and Justice say meetings are being set up.

Trump’s calendar has been packed with sit-downs.

During his meeting with Kissinger, who led the State Department under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, the two discussed relations with China, Russia, Iran and the European Union. Other meetings have included Haley, the daughter of Indian-born parents, who would bring diversity to a Trump administration, Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling.

As he left Trump Tower, Hensarling, who leads the House Financial Services Committee, said he and the president-elect had discussed tax and trade policies — and he left open the possibility of joining the administration.

“I stand ready to help the president in any capacity possible,” he said. “I’ve got a great position in public policy today. If he wants to talk to me obviously about serving somewhere else, we’ll look at serving somewhere else.”</s>For the second time in a week, president-elect Donald Trump has abandoned precedent and traveled without the "press pool," a small group of journalists assigned to cover his movements.

"It is unacceptable for the next president of the United States to travel without a regular pool to record his movements and inform the public about his whereabouts," the White House Correspondents Association said in response.

"Pool reporters are in place in New York to cover the president-elect as he assembles his new administration. It is critical that they be allowed to do their jobs," the association's president, Jeff Mason, said in a statement.

The press pool exists because Americans have a right to know about the president's whereabouts, particularly in a turbulent world.

Trump's press secretary, Hope Hicks, told journalists around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday that there was a "lid" for the night -- a term of art meaning that no more news or travel was expected until Wednesday. Trump has been at Trump Tower for several days and has not been seen in public.

Later in the evening, however, Trump took his family to a nearby restaurant, the 21 Club, for dinner.

The press pool would have been ready to travel with him, but they were not notified. A Bloomberg staffer dining at the restaurant spotted Trump and tweeted a picture, sending journalists scrambling to catch up.

While Trump and his aides may delight in irritating journalists, the behavior breaks with well-established norms governing a president's relationship with the press corps. Those same norms are also applicable to the president-elect.

It doesn't matter whether Trump ordered the caesar salad or the strip steak. Journalists were not seeking a seat at the dinner table with Trump. Normally reporter wait in a separate room or in a vehicle.

The press pool matters because everything the leader of the free world does matters. While presidents often agitate for more privacy and freedom, and occasionally slip the press, the pool of journalists is a fixture of Secret Service motorcades.

In an emergency, the journalists quickly relay information, helping the president and his aides inform and reassure Americans. This was vital on 9/11, for example.

On a day-to-day basis, the journalists keep track of the president's whereabouts and how he spends his time -- useful information for the voters who elected him and the voters who did not. What Americans know about George W. Bush's trips to his ranch and Barack Obama's golf outings is thanks to the press corps.

"Questioning the necessity of press pool means questioning the public's right to know president/president elect's whereabouts, meetings, etc," Julie Pace of the Associated Press tweeted.

The reporters and camera crews view themselves as a "conduit to the American people, so that everybody in the nation knows where he is," NBC's Hallie Jackson said on MSNBC Tuesday night.

Jackson quickly made a reservation at the 21 Club so that she could verify Trump was there. She said he was seated in the main dining room with his family.

Former Bush administration press secretary Ari Fleischer wrote on Twitter that Trump's aides should have told the press corps where the president-elect was going, following normal protocol.

"A press van would normally be included in the motorcade," he wrote.

So what went wrong? Hicks told journalists that she did not know about Trump's travel plans. She reiterated what she said last week after Trump traveled to Washington, D.C. without a press pool -- that the normal set-up will be put in place soon.

CNN's Sara Murray told Anderson Cooper on Tuesday night that this "appears to be yet another misunderstanding of exactly how much gravity his new title as president-elect holds. If something, God forbid, were to happen to him, that's a matter not only of public record but also a matter of national security, given that he is next in line to take the White House."
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe becomes the first foreign head of government to meet President-elect of the United States Donald Trump since his election as President on November 8.