Former House speaker Newt Gingrich said Thursday he will not serve in President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet. The announcement came as no surprise to many in the transition team. It has been a badly kept secret since the election that Gingrich was not interested in heading a federal post.
Gingrich made it clear, “I want to be free to network across the whole system and look at what we have to do to succeed. Holding a Cabinet post would have been “not physically doable,” he said. That comment will have many reading between the lines. More than likely he is referring to his age of 73, which is three-years older than Trump.
The former Speaker of the House in the 1990’s made his remarks by phone before he told McClatchy he intends to focus on “strategic planning” during the Trump administration rather than run a federal department.
In plain English, Gingrich is a solid no, and does not plan to hold any official role under Trump. The feisty champion debater had been mentioned for the post of Health and Resources Secretary, but the rumor in Washington is that when it became obvious he would not be selected for secretary of state, his interest waned.
Gingrich was an active surrogate for Trump during the campaign, the former Georgia Republican lawmaker was long expected to take a role in the administration. Ironically, Trump had told reporters in July that “Newt Gingrich is going to be involved in our government.”
Newt is well-known in Washington circles as a dominant-style leader which may have been the wrong fit for the boss he would have answered to who will take that position solely. Gingrich is the second high-level Trump supporter who has bowed out of any cabinet post. Dr. Ben Carson declined earlier this week.
