Donald Trump asks 50 Obama appointees to stay on

The United States of America President-elect Donald Trump has asked roughly 50 Obama appointees to remain in their posts.  According to Trump's incoming White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, the move is to ensure continuity in government. The officials include the highest-ranking career officials at key national security agencies like the Pentagon and State Department.

Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work and America's third-ranking diplomat, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon, will serve as acting chiefs of their agencies until successors for the top jobs are confirmed by the US Senate. The announcement comes after weeks of questions about how Trump's team is managing the presidential transition. Some officials at many US federal agencies have in the past complained about a lack of communication with the incoming administration. Experts had warned that the confusion among officials at national security agencies could have consequences, given their international engagements. At the State Department, Shannon will be in charge until at least until next week as a US Senate vote on Trump's choice for secretary of state, former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, isn't expected until next week.

Also staying will be Brett McGurk, the Obama administration's point-man for fighting the Islamic State group, Nicholas Rasmussen, the National Counterterrorism Center director, and Adam Szubin, the Treasury Department's top official for terrorism and financial intelligence. Chuck Rosenberg, the US Drug Enforcement Agency administrator, and Susan Coppedge, the State Department's ambassador-at-large to combat human trafficking, would be left in place for the transition. The US National Institutes of Health said its director, Dr Francis Collins, was also asked to stay on at least temporarily.

A full list of Obama appointees asked to remain was not immediately available.