He tapped Fox News analyst Kathleen Troia ‘‘KT’’ McFarland to serve as deputy national security adviser and campaign attorney Donald McGahn as White House counsel. In a statement, Trump cited McFarland’s ‘‘tremendous experience and innate talent’’ and said McGahn ‘‘has a brilliant legal mind, excellent character and a deep understanding of constitutional law.’’

Trump made two new staff appointments on Friday, though neither was a Cabinet-level pick.

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is connecting with foreign leaders and considering new Cabinet-prospects Friday as he gathers with family for the long Thanksgiving weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

McFarland served in various posts under former Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. McGahn, a veteran Republican election attorney, served as Trump’s attorney during the campaign.


Neither position requires Senate confirmation.

The president-elect also has meetings scheduled with eight prospective administration hires scheduled for Monday, a group that includes a handful of business leaders along with David Clarke, the Wisconsin sheriff who is an aggressive opponent of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence also have meetings scheduled on Monday in New York with Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., former Security and Exchange Commission commissioner Paul Atkins, World Wide Technology chairman David Steward and General Growth Properties CEO Sandeep Mathrani.

Beyond secretary of state, two possible appointments loom: that of retired neurosurgeon and former presidential candidate Ben Carson as secretary of housing and urban development and billionaire investor Wilbur Ross Jr. as commerce secretary.

The most recent Trump Cabinet-level picks to be announced were South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and charter school advocate Betsy DeVos to lead the Education Department.

Trump is also continuing to connect with foreign dignitaries, according to spokesman Sean Spicer. Since arriving at his Palm Beach estate on Wednesday, the president-elect has spoken to the prime ministers of Greece, Hungary and Sweden, along with the presidents of Panama and Slovenia.


Trump, according to his Twitter feed, is also pressing an Indiana-based air conditioning company not to send jobs to Mexico over the Thanksgiving holiday.

During the presidential campaign he often cited Carrier’s decision last February to relocate some 1,400 jobs to its plant in Mexico as an example of jobs leaving the country — and how he as president would slap a tax on any units manufactured in Mexico and sold in the U.S.

‘‘I am working hard, even on Thanksgiving, trying to get Carrier A.C. Company to stay in the U.S.,’’ Trump tweeted on Thursday. ‘‘MAKING PROGRESS - Will know soon!’’

The company confirmed it had discussed the move with the incoming administration but said that there was nothing to announce.