President-elect Trump’s search for a secretary of state has expanded beyond the four finalists the transition team had reportedly been vetting this past week, top Trump aide Kellyanne Conway told reporters Sunday morning.
“It’s a big decision and nobody should rush through it,” Conway said during a 9-minute press gaggle at Trump Tower.
When asked why the list is being expanded, Conway said, “There’s many qualified people who have expressed an interest in serving.”
“I think one thing that really strikes us, and this is not unique to this president, who is unique, but there are a number of people that we may not have thought wanted to leave their very lucrative private industry positions to go and serve the government and they are coming forth now and expressing interest and it’s exciting, frankly, to at least get their counsel,” she added.
The Trump transition team told reporters last week that the president-elect had narrowed his search for secretary of state down to four individuals, including 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker and former CIA director Gen. David Petraeus are rumored to be the other two contenders for the coveted Cabinet-level position.
Conway did not specify Sunday who the other candidates might be.
Another Trump aide, Reince Priebus, said on the radio Sunday that he expects an announcement about top diplomat job in the next two weeks.
