Peter Thiel and others working on the Donald Trump transition have launched a secret database called the 'Plum List' to screen out disloyal Trump administration applicants and recruit prospective hires from outside the traditional Beltway channels, sources tell the DailyMail.com.

Insiders said the Plum List, which is being run outside of the official Trump transition, will serve as a central database to help wade through the thousands of incoming applications and identify key talent.

Sources said the list is being spearheaded by Thiel, who was appointed to a top spot on Trump's transition team last Friday.

'Peter and a number of people are running a secret "Plum List", which is a way of screening out bad people,' said one source involved with the project. 'It's basically a way to do all the background checks.'

Another Thiel ally billed it as an 'official, unofficial way to fast-track' qualified applicants, particularly those who come from outside the typical Washington, DC, think tank-consultant nexus.

The list will primarily focus on recruiting staffers for science and technology, the areas Thiel has been tasked with in the transition process.

However, sources close to Thiel said he has taken a broad view of his directive, and will be looking at candidates for the FDA, the FCC, and federal trust issues as well.

The database will also include generalist candidates who could be placed in a range of administration roles, and ambassadorial candidates.

'Everybody with any involvement with the campaign is getting bombarded with resumes so this is a place where we're forwarding them all and just organizing our efforts into a formal process around it,' said the source. 'We have people inside the transition who we're preparing this for and who've asked us to do this.'

Applicants will be screened and color-coded in the database – with an emphasis on whether they have shown loyalty to Donald Trump through the election.

'We're vetting people and making sure they've been committed Trump supporters throughout the election,' said the source. 'Loyalty is very important to Trump, and there's been kind of a civil war within the party.

'So we want to make sure that the people who go into the administration are aligned with his vision and goals.'

The vetting process includes a heavy focus on social media. Insiders say they will be looking closely at prospective staffers' online postings – even ones they may have deleted.

'The jocks have won the election, and now the nerds need to make sure they do their homework for them,' said another source.

A master database like the Plum List could be a crucial tool for the transition team, which has been scrambling to organize since Trump's surprise victory last week.

Prior to the election, the transition team made very little progress with Chris Christie at the helm, according to insiders.

Last Friday, the campaign announced that vice president-elect Mike Pence would replace Christie as the leader of the transition. Christie was bumped down to a vice-chairman role

The New Jersey governor had been a contentious choice to lead the transition team, according to insiders.

Christie had filled leadership positions with members of his inner circle, including Bill Palatucci and former chief of staff Rich Bagger.

This irked some on the transition, who believe Christie's people were working to fill administration roles with their own allies rather than individuals who supported Trump's political agenda.

'It look[ed] like the "Christie for President" transition,' said one source with knowledge of the transition. 'There's nobody in the building [leadership] who's loyal to Donald Trump… It's infuriating because Christie's not the guy you want to trust with personnel.'

Christie's circle reportedly lobbied for several individual appointments, including Christie adviser Bob Grady, a former official in the George HW Bush administration, for Environmental Protection Agency secretary or head of Interior; James Connaughton, a former George W. Bush official; and environmental attorney Jeff Holmstead.

This push to appoint Christie insiders also grated on some of the transition staff, who applauded the news that Pence would take over last Friday.

Sources familiar with the transition team also said the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, DC, has taken a larger role in the transition. The think tank has also compiled a database of potential candidates for a Trump administration.

They're screening candidates. Why is this news?

Quote from: Azendac on November 19, 2016, 04:07:46 PM

Quote from: ModusPonens on November 19, 2016, 04:05:30 PM

They're screening candidates. Why is this news?

Because they're explicitly filtering out people that were against Trump during the campaign, and searching for Washington outsiders.

So they're hiring no people with no opposing views and likely little experience to the offices they're being given?

Why does that sound terrible?

Thiel has no credibility in the field though. Yes, the guy's a success in terms of the science and tech industry, but he himself has no experience in government office or what is needed to run such an enterprise. As much as people hate Washington insiders (To which I'd argue that Sessions' is the epitome of one), throwing new people into roles that create policy for hundreds of millions of people is backwards.

The White House and the executive branch is not a place for newcomers to find out what politics is about. They can live up to their campaign promise, but the fact is it's a terribly risky precedent setting move.