US President-elect Donald Trump has shuffled his transition team again, dropping a national security expert and lobbyists from his inner-circle as he closed in on naming two loyal Wall Street backers to key economic positions.
Mr Trump also cleared a paperwork snag that had temporarily stalled his transition after he put Vice President-elect Mike Pence in charge of the process.
Very organized process taking place as I decide on Cabinet and many other positions. I am the only one who knows who the finalists are!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2016
At the top of his list for senior economic positions are campaign finance chair and Wall Street veteran Steve Mnuchin as treasury secretary, and long-time backer and billionaire investor Wilbur Ross for commerce secretary, according to Trump ally and activist investor Carl Icahn.
However, a well-known Republican moderate was pushed out of transition planning.
Mike Rogers, a former US representative from Michigan who had been mentioned as a possible pick for CIA director, suddenly left the transition team.
Mr Rogers had worked with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who on Friday was abruptly replaced by Mr Pence as head of the transition team.
That overhaul had put the brakes on transition talks with the White House.
Mr Pence needed to sign a memorandum of understanding, which the White House received yesterday evening.
The Trump team still needs to provide more paperwork before detailed agency-by-agency briefings can take place, a White House spokeswoman said.
The team will need to provide a code of conduct and certify that its transition team members do not have conflicts of interest.
Additional changes are likely.
Mr Pence and Rick Dearborn, the executive director of the transition team, are "removing any lobbyists," a transition aide said.
"This is to ensure President-elect Trump's commitment to ban lobbyist involvement is being upheld at all levels of the transition," the aide said.
Mr Trump came under fire from his frequent sparring partner, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, for including lobbyists on his transition team.
"Based on public reports, your transition team and your potential cabinet include over twenty Wall Street elites, industry insiders, and lobbyists making decisions that could have huge implications for their clients or employers," Ms Warren wrote in a letter.
Mr Trump has fewer than 70 days until his inauguration on 20 January to settle on cabinet members and other senior appointees.
He will eventually need to fill roughly 4,000 open positions.
Wall Street is closely watching who Mr Trump picks for treasury chief because Republicans have majorities in both chambers of Congress, giving Mr Trump a clearer shot at tax and financial regulatory reforms.
Mr Trump has filled two positions so far.
His choice of Republican party insider Reince Priebus to be White House chief of staff was heralded by Republican leaders as an indication he wanted to work with Congress.
However, the appointment of Steve Bannon as chief strategist was criticised by Democrats, civil rights organisations and some Republicans.
Neither Mr Priebus nor Mr Bannon need Senate confirmation for their posts, but cabinet posts do.
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