Bob Jordan

Asbury Park Press

TRENTON — New Jersey residents don’t think much of Gov. Chris Christie as a multitasker, but the governor is about to start juggling responsibilities again as he takes on a new role as the head of Donald Trump’s presidential transition team.

The work means overseeing a massive personnel operation to vet 4,000 potential political appointees, should Trump win November’s presidential election, and helping sketch out details for a $4 trillion federal budget.

Where New Jersey residents and their interests fit into this equation is not yet clear.

Christie says he was “honored’’ at being picked Monday by Trump to head the presumptive Republican nominee’s transition team. Trump also says he hasn’t ruled out choosing Christie as his vice presidential running mate.

Christie to head up Trump transition team

All of which means Christie will have few chances to come up for air in the coming months, said Heath Brown, an assistant professor at John Jay College and author of Lobbying the New President: Interests in Transition.

“Unless there are other people added to the transition team who are doing more of the day to day work, Gov. Christie will have some very long days,’’ Brown said. “When you actually sit down at look at the things that actually need to be done — the potential hiring, the policy, the administrative — it would fill up anyone’s calendar. As we move from here up through the November election and the January inauguration, the pace and the number of things that need to be done keeps increasing.’’

Christie’s own presidential ambitions and frequent out-of-state travel over the last two years helped sink his approval ratings among Garden State residents, but the governor says he won’t have any trouble fitting in his new Trump work. He says the post gives him “something to do in my off hours.’’

“I’ve always been able to manage my time pretty well,’’ Christie said two days after the Trump announcement.

Polls show a different assessment.

Last month, Christie dropped to a record-low 26% favorable opinion among New Jersey registered voters in a Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, with 9% specifically dinging Christie with the combined response of “wrong priorities, hurting NJ, does not care about NJ citizens.’’

Christie, who was outside New Jersey for 261 full or partial days in 2015, says he won’t be on the road much for Trump.

“In the beginning there will be some decent time for me to put a good team together,’’ Christie said. “I will make the major decisions that need to be made, of course in consultation with the candidate. A lot of the work will be done by men and women who will volunteer their time, as it traditionally happens across the country, to bring their expertise to bear on all the different issues a new president would have to confront.’’

“I don’t think it will take me out of the state much at all. Maybe to Washington, D.C, every once in a while,” he said.

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Brown said it’s not unusual for transition work to begin months before the presidential election, though few nominees make their plans public this early.

“Historically the work has happened in secret. The names of those doing the planning, the number of people involved, aren’t known this early because it’s been viewed as arrogant to plan for an office you haven’t won yet,’’ Brown said.

President Obama’s transition organization in 2008 — the last changeover in the country’s leadership — was also started up during the height of the presidential campaign. The effort employed approximately 450 people and had a budget of about $12 million.

“It means building an organization that’s parallel to the campaign. It’s a phenomenally large task,’’ said Max Stier, head of the Washington-based Partnership for Public Service, which this year launched a new Center for Presidential Transition to help candidates prepare for changeovers.

“It’s also about getting a budget in place. The next president will have very little time to decide where the money goes without a lot of help.’’

Former Utah governor Mike Leavitt, who headed Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s transition team in 2012, was the first to take advantage of a 2010 law designed to facilitate smooth transitions by offering nominees support from the federal government with Washington office space, government emails and phone numbers, data security and certain security clearances. The preparations ended with Romney’s loss to incumbent Obama.

“I’m pleased Mr. Trump has chosen to start now. I think Chris Christie is a good choice and I’m confident that the Democratic nominee will also make a suitable choice,’’ Leavitt said.

Elections 2016 | USA TODAY Network