The Trump transition team is churning out Cabinet appointments, but Texans were passed over for two positions in recent days.
On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump named film producer and banker Steven Mnuchin as his pick for treasury secretary, passing over U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Dallas.
On Wednesday morning, Trump announced billionaire investor Wilbur Ross as commerce secretary, spurning former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
That doesn’t mean Trump will head to Washington without a Texan in his inner circle.
Perry, Texas Agriculture Secretary Sid Miller, Dallas investor Ray Washburne, Austin-based Rep. Michael McCaul and former Texas environmental regulator Kathleen Hartnett White are all under consideration for Cabinet posts under Trump.
Washburne is the latest Texan to appear at Trump Tower. He told reporters Wednesday morning that he was “just hanging out” after being spotted in the lobby.
“I thought the weather was nicer here than in Dallas,” Washburne said.
Hensarling, who met with Trump in recent weeks, will continue to lead the House Financial Services Committee, one of the most powerful positions in Congress.
“It was a distinct honor to be considered by President-elect Trump to serve in his Cabinet,” Hensarling said in a statement. “He has a bold, ambitious agenda to grow our economy, and I look forward to working with the president-elect and his Cabinet in my capacity as chairman of the Financial Services Committee to advance policies that will help all Americans raise their standard of living and advance the cause of a better, stronger, more prosperous America.”
Even though Perry was passed over as secretary of commerce, he is under consideration to be energy secretary, secretary of agriculture or secretary of veterans affairs.
Perry famously forgot to name the Energy Department as one of the three federal agencies he would eliminate if elected president during a 2011 debate.
“It’s three agencies of government when I get there that are gone: Commerce, Education and the uh . . . what’s the third one, there? Let’s see. . . . The third one. I can’t,” Perry said, adding “Oops.”
Alex Daugherty: 202-383-6049, @alextdaugherty