Trump Cabinet Update: Republicans Concerned About Mitt Romney As Potential Secretary Of State

Some of President-elect Donald Trump’s allies aren’t too happy with the real estate mogul’s potential pick for the secretary of state post, Mitt Romney. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, was a vocal critic of Trump.

The real estate mogul’s allies reportedly suggested the president-elect pick someone loyal to him. Trump adviser and former Campaign Manager Kellyanne Conway in a series of tweets Thursday questioned the Republican’s choice suggesting Romney may not be suitable for a job that involved working closely with Trump.

Conway said she was flooded with concerns about Romney on social media and on private lines. She also added: “[Henry]Kissinger & [George] Schultz as Secs of State flew around the world less, counseled POTUS close to home more. And were loyal. Good checklist.”

Some of the names that cropped up for the post include former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton and Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker. Two sources told the Wall Street Journal this week that Trump was leaning toward Romney. The former Massachusetts governor once called Trump a “fraud” and a “phony.”

Conway isn’t the only Trump ally concerned about Romney. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich both believe Romney is unlikely to be loyal to the president-elect.

“It’s not about that I don’t care for Mitt personally, but I’m still very unhappy that Mitt did everything he could to derail Donald Trump,” Huckabee reportedly told Fox News. “He didn’t just go after him from a standpoint of saying I disagree with his policy on immigration or I disagree with his policy on taxes. He attacked him on a personal level about his character, integrity, his honor.”

Huckabee accused Romney on Wednesday of “savaging” both Trump and the voters with his rhetoric. “It would be a real insult to all those Donald Trump voters who worked really hard. That’s what I think he has to stop and consider,” Huckabee said.

Gingrich, on the other hand, called Romney Trump’s “most vicious and most explicit opponent all through the campaign on the Republican side.”

“You have to list out all the things he said and think, ‘Is this guy really gonna be loyal?’ But also, you know, Gov. Romney wanted to be president, not secretary of state, and you have to ask the question: When he goes overseas, is he gonna be the secretary of state for President Trump or is he gonna be Mitt Romney’s own secretary state?” Gingrich asked.

Gingrich, however, added: “I will support whoever President-elect Trump picks because he has the right, I think as the new president, to build the team he wants to build, but I would suggest there are a lot of other people who are more qualified than Romney in foreign policy and who are also have not been as actively hostile as he’s been.”