NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump is announcing his choices for three key administration jobs Friday, naming Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general, Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo to head the CIA and former military intelligence chief Michael Flynn as his national security adviser. As national security adviser, he would work in the White House shaping foreign and military policy and have frequent access to a president with no national security experience. The official wouldn't say whether Flynn had accepted the job, which left open the possibility that the arrangement was not finalized. The Trump official, who was not authorised to discuss the offer publicly, would not say whether Mr Flynn had accepted the job. On Saturday, Trump was to meet with retired Gen. James Mattis, a contender to lead the Pentagon. Flynn was a critic of Obama's military and foreign policy long before he began advising Trump on national security issues during the presidential campaign. He retired in 2014 and has been a fierce critic of President Barack Obama’s White House and Pentagon, taking issue with the administration’s approach to global affairs and fighting Islamic State militants. In a separate gesture of reconciliation with establishment Republicans, Trump planned to meet with 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who lambasted Trump as a “con man” and a “fraud” in a stinging speech last March. Trump responded by repeatedly referring to Romney as a “loser.”

Members of minority groups have voiced alarm at Trump’s staff appointments so far, saying his choices threaten national unity and promise to turn back the clock on progress for racial, religious and sexual minorities. But his warmth toward Russia has worried some national security experts, particularly after he to Moscow last year to join Russian President Vladimir Putin at a celebration for RT, a television channel funded by the Russian government. 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. “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. The rights group noted that “Flynn has repeatedly refused to rule out Trump’s proposed use of torture and other war crimes.”

Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said in a statement on Thursday night that he was “deeply concerned about [Flynn’s] views on Russia” because of their “fondness for the autocratic and belligerent Kremlin”.
Officials serving on President-elect Donald Trump's transition team reveal selections for high-level positions, including Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General, Mike Pompeo for Director of the CIA and Michael T. Flynn for National Security Advisor.