WASHINGTON, .D.C – President-elect Donald Trump chose Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus as White House chief of staff and Trump for President CEO Stephen Bannon as chief strategist, showing a willingness to work with Congress and giving a nod to Republicans who helped sweep him into office. Vice President-elect Mike Pence is leading the transition team until Inauguration Day on January 20, 2017.Less than a week after his upset win over Democrat Hillary Clinton in Tuesday’s presidential election, analysts say that tapping Priebus, a friend of House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, could help Trump repair his strained relations with members of the Republican Party establishment in Washington.Ryan on Monday praised President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of Priebus for his White House chief of staff as the best choice for getting things done in Congress.”It’s a very, very, very good sign of things to come,” Ryan said in an interview with Wisconsin radio station WBEL. Ryan said he has spoken with Trump almost every day since last Tuesday’s election.”Hiring Reince as his chief of staff is a perfect indication of our new president’s desire to get things done,” Ryan said.”It is truly an honor to join President-elect Trump in the White House as his Chief of Staff,” said Priebus in a statement released by the presidential transition team. “I am very grateful to the President-elect for this opportunity to serve him and this nation as we work to create an economy that works for everyone, secure our borders, repeal and replace Obamacare and destroy radical Islamic terrorism. He will be a great President for all Americans.”U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial average hitting a record high, as Trump’s unexpected victory in the U.S. presidential election continued to lift the market.The Dow Jones industrial average rose 67.12 points, or 0.36 percent, to 18,914.78, the S&P 500 gained 4.63 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,169.08 and the Nasdaq composite added 7.94 points, or 0.15 percent, to 5,245.05.
