Presidential Cabinet Quotes

The 'transition' involves the transfer of power from one president to another. In recent times, the incoming President has designated a Director of the Transition, a team leader, to oversee and administer the orderly transfer of power.

I'm deciding where I am best for this president-elect [Donald Trump] and this vice president-elect [Mike Pence] in due course. But there are many qualified men and women who can serve him at the highest levels.

I generally think the president [Donald Trump] should get his Cabinet picks, unless they're egregiously out of the range, either ethically or intellectually out of the range of what's acceptable.

Barack Obama is putting his team together to take over the Administration. So far, he's got his mother-in-law, who is going to be living with him, and they are talking about Hillary for Secretary of State. You have your mother-in-law and Hillary Clinton. Sounds like smooth sailing to me.

I met Gerald Ford. I met Richard Nixon. I met Jimmy Carter. I met Dwight Eisenhower when he was a general. George Bush senior. I haven't met Bill Clinton or George W. Bush, although I got a letter from him.

I don't have a right to pick the president's cabinet on substance.

George W. Bush filled out his cabinet fairly quickly.

I got to meet one Chief of Staff: Sam Skinner. He was Chief of Staff at the end of George Sr.'s White House.

As far as I understand, the president-elect of the United States [Donald Trump] is ready for such joint work. We do not know yet what it will be like in actual practice. We have to wait for him to take office and form his administration.

A crony is a presidential advisor you don't like.

The presidency is not a collegial body... He will surround himself with people who share his vision.

The president-elect Donald Trump moved a bit closer to getting his Cabinet in place with another round of confirmation hearings. The most contentious was for his treasury secretary pick, Steven Mnuchin, a billionaire banker who worked at Goldman Sachs and owned a hedge fund. There was important news that came out during the hearing. Mnuchin said that he would support raising the debt ceiling sooner rather than later, and not risk the country defaulting.

From where I sit, it's a superb cabinet [for Donald Trump] so far. A lot of these choices could have been made by Ted Cruz. So you're going to have this shotgun marriage between a very orthodox Republican cabinet and a very unorthodox.

It is extremely chilling that Donald Trump views the spectacle of choosing cabinet appointments in a way that is similar to deciding whether or not to fire Lil Jon or Joan Rivers.

Trump bragged about hiring only the 'best people' when he was running for president. We're seeing, time and again, the opposite. It's unclear whether the president's definition of 'best people' is different than ours, or if the 'best people' simply aren't interested in working for him.

One I'm deeply into is Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Team of Rivals." I was the only person in the US who hadn't read it.

After this election only three people will be able to see the President.

I'm an appointee of President Obama.

I would not have imagined being asked to be Secretary of State, it was a great honor to serve with President Obama in his cabinet.

When George W. Bush picked Dick Cheney, it was a reassuring sign that the Texas governor would have an experienced, prudent voice at his side.

As you probably know, I've written a lot about the presidency, so it's obviously exciting when you get to interview a president and write about it.

I worked in the Clinton administration.

One of the things that voters have said about Donald Trump, since he has no government experience, is that he will be able to surround himself with good advisers.