Mitt Romney talking to media after meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Saturday. AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster Kellyanne Conway, the top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, on Thursday acknowledged the outcry over Trump's meeting with Mitt Romney last weekend and his potential nomination as secretary of state, perhaps the clearest sign of internal divisions among Trump's closest advisers.

The former Massachusetts governor and 2012 GOP presidential nominee is reportedly the frontrunner for the role in the Trump administration. But he has come under fire in recent days from prominent allies of the president-elect.

"Receiving deluge of social media & private comms re: Romney," Conway tweeted Thursday morning, linking to a story titled "Some Trump loyalists warn against Romney as sec of state."

Some Trump loyalists were apparently bewildered by the notion that Romney, who was one of Trump's harshest critics, could be allowed in Trump's inner circle. The battle over the man who once called Romney a "con man" and a "fraud" has spilled out to public in recent days.

Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, and Fox News host Sean Hannity were among the loudest detractors, with the latter two signaling they favored former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for the spot. Gingrich questioned whether Romney would act in his own self-interest as secretary of state.

"Gov. Romney wanted to be president, not secretary of state, and you have to ask the question: When he goes overseas is he going to be the secretary of state for President Trump, or is he going to be Mitt Romney's own secretary of state?" Gingrich said.

Conway, who was Trump's campaign manager during the election, appeared to acknowledge critics' concerns, arguing the merits of previous secretaries of state — Henry Kissinger, who was appointed by Richard Nixon, and George P. Shultz, who worked with Ronald Reagan.

They "flew around the world less," Conway wrote, "counseled POTUS close to home more. And were loyal. Good checklist."

The New York Times reported Thursday that the internal division between those favoring Romney and Giuliani has opened up the door for a third candidate — Marine Gen. John Kelly, former CIA Director David Petraeus, and Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee among them.

"The president-elect is meeting with a number of well-qualified potential selections for this important position who share his America First foreign policy — some of whom have been made public and others who have not — and the president-elect will make public his decision when he has finalized it," Trump spokesman Jason Miller said in a statement.