Washington (CNN) Donald Trump's transition is being marked by sharp internal disagreements over key Cabinet appointments and direction, both for internal West Wing positions and key national security posts, sources involved in the transition team tell CNN.

One source with knowledge of the transition described it as a "knife fight."

The split has put traditional Republican operatives such as Reince Priebus -- named Trump's chief of staff Sunday -- against more non-traditional influences such as Steve Bannon -- the alt-right leader of Breitbart News -- who will be Trump's chief strategist. A particular challenge is lack of clarity about the division of power among Priebus, Bannon and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who also has a key role in transition decisions. Another source tied to the transition described the resulting confusion as "buffoonery."

On Tuesday morning, former congressman Mike Rogers announced in a statement that he parted ways with the Trump transition team. Rogers' participation was seen as a heartening sign to many of the establishment side of national security advisers.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence, the new leader of the transition operation, will be at Trump Tower in New York Tuesday to meet with Trump and discuss possible nominees.

The divisions are being played out as Trump considers key appointments in the national security and diplomatic sectors, including secretary of state, with mainstream conservatives supporting John Bolton against Rudy Giuliani, who is seen as a loyalist to Trump.

On other key national security appointments, there is more agreement. Sen. Jeff Sessions is now the leading contender for attorney general, and is in the mix for secretary of defense as well, say multiple sources with knowledge of the transition.

Retired Lt. General Ron Burgess, former director of the DIA, is a leading contender for director of national intelligence. Retired General Michael Flynn is leading candidate for national security adviser.

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No matter who gets what job, one description seems to fit the makeup of the short list: unconventional. And it highlights the dilemma faced by Trump, who is now torn between a campaign promise to shake up Washington and a need to build a national security team with policy experience.

The presence of so many political backers could signal that Trump values loyalty over experience and is keen to have people on board who share his worldview and are willing to depart from conventional wisdom.

This is particularly true when it comes to the secretary of state post. The position of America's chief diplomat is considered a particularly high-profile one, charged with maintaining relationships around the globe.

But some of the names being rumored for the job seem to indicate that Trump will favor an iconoclastic approach to the role:

Rudy Giuliani, possible secretary of state

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Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor and mayor of New York, has little foreign policy experience to speak of but has been a vocal advocate of Trump's since early on in the campaign.

During his own run for the presidency in 2008, Giuliani espoused a fairly conventional Republican foreign policy view, calling on continued US engagement abroad and robust efforts to fight terrorism and stabilize Iraq and Afghanistan.

He also signaled support for democracy promotion, something at odds with Trump's pronouncements where he has put value on stability and counter-terrorism as opposed to democracy and human rights.

A source familiar with the transition process told CNN that Giuliani has expressed his preference for the secretary of state position as opposed to the post of attorney general.

John Bolton, possible secretary of state

Bolton, a diplomat in the George W. Bush administration, backed Trump soon after he secured the nomination and would be one of the more conventional choices.

But despite spending years at the State Department, Bolton has at times ruffled feathers in Washington. He was appointed to be ambassador to the UN, a Cabinet level position, in 2005. But his nomination was met with fierce opposition in Congress and Bush was forced to appoint him during a congressional recess.

A source familiar with the transition said the Trump team acknowledges that Bolton's confirmation might be difficult but they think it would be less tough than it was 10 years ago.

He also has elements of the conservative mainstream in his corner; he was endorsed by the influential National Review magazine in an open letter to President-elect Trump over the weekend.

Bolton has consistently advocated for unilateral and interventionist approaches to foreign policy challenges.

Like Trump he has opposed the Iran nuclear deal going so far as to call for airstrikes against Iran, penning a 2015 op-ed in the New York Times titled "To Stop Iran's Bomb, Bomb Iran."

He has also been highly critical of international institutions and organizations like the UN, something that tracks closely with Trump's professed "America first" and anti-"globalist" approach to foreign policy. In that vein Bolton led efforts to withdraw America's signature from the International Criminal Court.

But Bolton has also been a harsh critic of Russia -- a stance that might put him at odds with any effort to improve ties with Moscow, something Trump has stated as an objective of his administration.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, possible attorney general or secretary of defense

According to one source familiar with transition, the job of Defense Secretary is Sessions' if he wants it. Trump is also interested in the senator for attorney general, CNN's Dana Bash reports.

Sessions would also be a more conventional choice having represented Alabama in the Senate since 1997. He sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee and also served in the US Army Reserve from 1973-1986.

Sessions also meets the loyalty test having been the first sitting senator to endorse Trump during the campaign.

But Sessions is not a typical Washington insider, at times taking positions at odds with his colleagues on the Armed Services committee.

While Sessions has called for a defense spending boost, many of his other positions, such as a skeptical view of NATO and friendlier view of Russia, while at odds with his Republican senatorial colleagues brought him more into line with Trump's campaign comments.

Sessions shares Trump's hardline positions on immigration as well and is also under consideration for Attorney General.

Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, possible national security adviser

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On the defense side, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn has emerged as a possible choice for national security adviser. Former military officers have found themselves in the role before, Barack Obama's first national security agency was former Gen. James Jones and Colin Powell served as the National Security Adviser to President Ronald Reagan.

Flynn, the former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, is well versed in international and security affairs.

But Flynn, a vocal and sometimes fiery advocate for the president-elect during the campaign, has also echoed Trump's rhetoric of fighting terrorism, boosting ties with Russia, and casting a more critical eye on NATO.

Why there are so few conventional choices

A few more establishment type names are being floated for roles that oversee the intelligence community.

Burgess, the former DIA director, is also thought to be a potential selection for the director of national intelligence, which oversees the sprawling intelligence community.

And Pete Hoekstra, a long-serving former congressman from Michigan who chaired the House Intelligence Committee from 2004-2007 is thought to be in the running for the same role or director of the CIA.

While more conventional picks had initially been rumored for State and Defense such as the head of the Council of Foreign Relations, Richard Haas, and George W. Bush's National Security Adviser, Stephen Hadley, most analysts are beginning to believe that the odds favor a more conventional choice.

One of the reasons for the non-traditional short-list is that many of the Republican Party's most senior national security experts denounced their presidential candidate during the campaign as too reckless to lead the nation safely, somewhat limiting the pool from which to draw.

But some foreign policy luminaries have suggested that Republican experts should put aside their differences and Brent Scowcroft, George H.W. Bush's national security adviser national security adviser and who backed Hillary Clinton for president, told attendees as a ceremony at the Aspen Strategy Group Monday that "If you're asked to serve, please do. This man needs help."

Photos: Donald Trump's rise President-elect Donald Trump has been in the spotlight for years. From developing real estate and producing and starring in TV shows, he became a celebrity long before winning the White House. Hide Caption 1 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump at age 4. He was born in 1946 to Fred and Mary Trump in New York City. His father was a real estate developer. Hide Caption 2 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump, left, in a family photo. He was the second-youngest of five children. Hide Caption 3 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump, center, stands at attention during his senior year at the New York Military Academy in 1964. Hide Caption 4 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump, center, wears a baseball uniform at the New York Military Academy in 1964. After he graduated from the boarding school, he went to college. He started at Fordham University before transferring and later graduating from the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania's business school. Hide Caption 5 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump stands with Alfred Eisenpreis, New York's economic development administrator, in 1976 while they look at a sketch of a new 1,400-room renovation project of the Commodore Hotel. After graduating college in 1968, Trump worked with his father on developments in Queens and Brooklyn before purchasing or building multiple properties in New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Those properties included Trump Tower in New York and Trump Plaza and multiple casinos in Atlantic City. Hide Caption 6 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump attends an event to mark the start of construction of the New York Convention Center in 1979. Hide Caption 7 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump wears a hard hat at the Trump Tower construction site in New York in 1980. Hide Caption 8 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump was married to Ivana Zelnicek Trump from 1977 to 1990, when they divorced. They had three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric. Hide Caption 9 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise The Trump family, circa 1986. Hide Caption 10 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump uses his personal helicopter to get around New York in 1987. Hide Caption 11 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump stands in the atrium of the Trump Tower. Hide Caption 12 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump attends the opening of his new Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, in 1989. Hide Caption 13 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump signs his second book, "Trump: Surviving at the Top," in 1990. Trump has published at least 16 other books, including "The Art of the Deal" and "The America We Deserve." Hide Caption 14 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump and singer Michael Jackson pose for a photo before traveling to visit Ryan White, a young child with AIDS, in 1990. Hide Caption 15 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump dips his second wife, Marla Maples, after the couple married in a private ceremony in New York in December 1993. The couple divorced in 1999 and had one daughter together, Tiffany. Hide Caption 16 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump putts a golf ball in his New York office in 1998. Hide Caption 17 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise An advertisement for the television show "The Apprentice" hangs at Trump Tower in 2004. The show launched in January of that year. In January 2008, the show returned as "Celebrity Apprentice." Hide Caption 18 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise A 12-inch talking Trump doll is on display at a toy store in New York in September 2004. Hide Caption 19 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump attends a news conference in 2005 that announced the establishment of Trump University. From 2005 until it closed in 2010, Trump University had about 10,000 people sign up for a program that promised success in real estate. Three separate lawsuits -- two class-action suits filed in California and one filed by New York's attorney general -- argued that the program was mired in fraud and deception. Trump's camp rejected the suits' claims as "baseless." And Trump has charged that the New York case against him is politically motivated. Hide Caption 20 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump attends the U.S. Open tennis tournament with his third wife, Melania Knauss-Trump, and their son, Barron, in 2006. Trump and Knauss married in 2005. Hide Caption 21 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump wrestles with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania in 2007. Trump has close ties with the WWE and its CEO, Vince McMahon. Hide Caption 22 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise For "The Apprentice," Trump was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2007. Hide Caption 23 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump appears on the set of "The Celebrity Apprentice" with two of his children -- Donald Jr. and Ivanka -- in 2009. Hide Caption 24 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump poses with Miss Universe contestants in 2011. Trump had been executive producer of the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants since 1996. Hide Caption 25 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise In 2012, Trump announces his endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Hide Caption 26 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump speaks in Sarasota, Florida, after accepting the Statesman of the Year Award at the Sarasota GOP dinner in August 2012. It was shortly before the Republican National Convention in nearby Tampa. Hide Caption 27 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump appears on stage with singer Nick Jonas and television personality Giuliana Rancic during the 2013 Miss USA pageant. Hide Caption 28 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise In June 2015, during a speech from Trump Tower, Trump announced that he was running for President. He said he would give up "The Apprentice" to run. Hide Caption 29 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump -- flanked by U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, left, and Ted Cruz -- speaks during a CNN debate in Miami on March 10. Trump dominated the GOP primaries and emerged as the presumptive nominee in May. Hide Caption 30 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise The Trump family poses for a photo in New York in April. Hide Caption 31 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump speaks during a campaign event in Evansville, Indiana, on April 28. After Trump won the Indiana primary, his last two competitors dropped out of the GOP race. Hide Caption 32 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump delivers a speech at the Republican National Convention in July, accepting the party's nomination for President. "I have had a truly great life in business," he said. "But now, my sole and exclusive mission is to go to work for our country -- to go to work for you. It's time to deliver a victory for the American people." Hide Caption 33 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump faces Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the first presidential debate, which took place in Hempstead, New York, in September. Hide Caption 34 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump apologizes in a video, posted to his Twitter account in October, for vulgar and sexually aggressive remarks he made a decade ago regarding women. "I said it, I was wrong and I apologize," Trump said, referring to lewd comments he made during a previously unaired taping of "Access Hollywood." Multiple Republican leaders rescinded their endorsements of Trump after the footage was released. Hide Caption 35 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump walks on stage with his family after he was declared the election winner on November 9. "Ours was not a campaign, but rather, an incredible and great movement," he told his supporters in New York. Hide Caption 36 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump is joined by his family as he is sworn in as President on January 20. Hide Caption 37 of 37

One rumor has emerged that radio host Laura Ingraham could be Trump's White House spokesperson.

Asked outside of Trump Tower about that possibility, transition communications adviser Jason Miller did not address it specifically, but said to expect some interesting names.

"You're going to see a number of different names that are ultimately becoming a part of the President-elect's administration," Miller said. "There will be non-traditional names, a number of people who have had wide-ranging success in a number of different fields; wide-ranging success in business ... People will be excited when they see the type of leaders the President-elect brings into this administration."

This story has been updated.