Inside Donald Trump’s transition as hopefuls flock to Mar-a-Lago

Donald Trump’s Florida residence and private club Mar-a-Lago has once again become the Winter White House – a sight to behold for West Wing hopefuls as the US president-elect assembles a new administration behind its overflowing doors.

While President Joe Biden will remain in office until January, this part of Florida has become a controversial center of political power in America.

Just two years after an FBI raid found classified documents about US nuclear weapons and spy satellites stored in a bathroom, a mix of insiders are swarming Mar-a-Lago, guarded by robotic dogs and armed guards on boats.

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, rumored to be energy secretary, was in attendance on election night. So is former US Defense Department official Kash Patel.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, was with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago during a family dinner and phone call with world leaders.

Musk was photographed inside a private club with his son and on the runway of Palm Beach International Airport, as he strolled back and forth to be at the president-elect’s side.

For those not blessed with an invitation to stay at Mar-a-Lago itself, hotels and restaurants around nearby West Palm Beach are filled with office-seekers vying for influence in the new administration and supporters celebrating Trump’s victory.

Robert F Kennedy Jr, an agnostic and deputy to one of America’s most famous political kings, was next door to The Ben Hotel’s swanky pool bar, where an ice rink and Christmas tree greeted guests.

Pictures of a large, golden Dobermann dog adorn the lobby and all floors except the elevators.

He is part of a reform team and the former one-term president is fighting for an influential role over health policy.

Speaking before the election, and former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, Democrat-turned-Republican, said: “There are people of all kinds of different views and people that we will have to stand up to in that reform group and fight for our vision.”

Also seen at The Ben was Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene speaking, the Georgia congresswoman who recently accused the Biden administration of causing flooding in Republican-held North Carolina. He is believed to be running for a cabinet post.

At The Breakers, a luxury hotel east of the Italian Renaissance style, the young crowd was impressed by a visit from Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, who joined his friend Trump on stage on election night, but says he has no personal politics. desires.

The same cannot be said for others. One GOP insider the BBC has taken to the corridors said the transition is a “free for all”, as different parts of the party vie for power.

“Trump likes to see people scoff and eat.”

But the insider noted with concern that some “less accepted people are starting to say they don’t want the role”.

Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, for one, has indicated that he is not interested in working in the administration and would prefer a Senate leadership position.

Donald Trump is expected not to focus too much on the elected positions that will fill the top positions.

His son, Don Jr, during an interview with Fox News said that he is looking for people who “don’t think they know better” than his father and that he is willing to stop anyone he thinks could be a disaster.

The president-elect has been expressing that he is doing things differently this time, saying his biggest mistake when he was the first president was hiring “bad, or dishonest people”.

Back in 2016, reform plans prepared by former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in concert with the outgoing Obama administration were scrapped.

When Trump’s team won what seemed like an impossible victory, they decided on an unconventional path and fired Christie.

What followed was an Apprentice-style show of people going to Trump Tower in New York that played out in front of the cameras.

Back then, news crews crowded the lobby to film everyone going up the golden elevator to see Donald Trump on the 26th floor.

While the world is still trying to understand what a Trump presidency will look like, the powerful in Wall Street, media, politics and entertainment are all looking for an audience, including Bill Gates, Al Gore and Kanye West.

In this case, Trump seems to prioritize loyalty, including who has been with him since day one.

And the world’s media crowd the hotel balconies and the parks and beaches surrounding Mar-a-Lago, where security is at the level of fortresses.

The transition process is still unusual by design, but so far it’s far behind 2016.

Trump’s first appointment — Florida political consultant Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff — offers one indication that Florida’s political efficiency may be ready to replicate its success in the White House.

Slater Bayliss, founder of the Florida-based lobbying firm Advocacy Partners, has worked for and against Wiles during the state’s primary battles and strongly prefers to be on his side.

“I would say, to borrow a nickname from our friends across the pond, Susie is the Iron Lady of American electoral politics.”

He says the offers have been overflowing with talent across the country, which has served as “a bulwark against smart intellectuals who love our country and want to take part in making it visible to our voters”.

Republican political analyst Max Goodman says the Florida wave is expected to crash into Washington.

He expects Trump’s team to be miners in Wiles’ group and in the state, congressional and Senate delegations have come out early in search of Trump.

“There is no hotter political farm system in the country than the state of Florida, where you have a president and a very active political consultant turned chief of staff who calls Florida home,” he said.

Despite having the second-largest Republican congressional delegation in the country, Mr Goodman says Florida is “notorious” when it comes to having a seat at the leadership table.

He believes that could change with Wiles leading the charge, and key Floridians like Rick Scott potentially stepping in as Senate Majority Leader and Senator Marco Rubio vying for a top cabinet post.

One person who has thrown his hand up to work on this change is Joe Gruters, who is waiting to see how that takes shape.

He was the 2016 chairman of the Trump campaign in Florida with Wiles, then the chairman of the Republican state party, and now a member of the district.

He describes himself as a “loyal foot soldier”, who was the only member of the Florida legislature to immediately accept Trump’s 2024 bid and appear at Mar-a-Lago to make the announcement.

He relied on Wiles to take his “war-tested” executives to Washington to fill positions.

“They know who the true believers are… and they probably have a clear idea of ​​who they will put in these many positions,” he said.

Palm Beach didn’t roll out the red carpet for Donald Trump when he first burst onto the scene with his Mar-a-Lago purchase in the 1980s.

But walking around the city now, it’s clear that this is Maga country – bikinis and hats with the Trump logo are the norm.

Next week, Argentine President Javier Milei is expected to visit Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump and Elon Musk.

And next week, CPAC, or the Conservative Political Action Conference, will host its annual investor conference at Mar-a-Lago with tickets costing $25,000 (£19,350).

And it’s unlikely that the migration to the south will stop once Donald Trump is inaugurated and in the Oval Office again.

Slater Bayliss – a Florida attorney – thinks Trump will want to spend more time in Florida in his second term.

That would go some way, he said, “toward making 62,500 square meters of Mar-a-Lago the most sacred physical space in the entire political universe”.

With additional reporting by Pratiksha Ghildial