Ayotte will serve as the nominee’s so-called sherpa, personally introducing the pick to senators and escorting him or her to meetings and the confirmation hearing. Ayotte, who narrowly lost reelection last fall, is an unlikely selection by Trump considering she spoke out against his candidacy and was seen as having been on a blacklist for appointments to the new administration.

AD

But Trump and his advisers sought Ayotte’s help guiding the nominee through the Senate, where she could use her personal relationships with centrist senators to attract Democratic support. The president wants to unify senators around his nominee, and by selecting Ayotte the White House hopes to show that Trump can overcome personal grudges.

The lead staffer on the nominee’s team will be Makan Delrahim, currently the director of nominations for the White House legislative affairs office. Delrahim will serve as “the quarterback,” in the words of the White House official, overseeing strategy and outreach with the Senate. Delrahim worked on the Senate Judiciary Committee under two chairmen, Sens. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah).

AD

Delrahim will work closely with Mary Elizabeth Taylor, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), where she ran the Senate cloakroom and developed personal relationships with Republican senators.

AD

Also involved will be Rick Dearborn, a deputy White House chief of staff and a former chief of staff to Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), and Marc Short, the White House’s director of legislative affairs.

The communications strategy will be overseen by Ron Bonjean, a longtime Republican strategist who has served as chief of staff to the Senate Republican Conference and as the chief spokesman for former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.).

Bonjean, who runs a public affairs firm, was brought on as a consultant to the Trump transition team to help guide communications efforts to Cabinet nominees and is a trusted associate of White House press secretary Sean Spicer.