WASHINGTON: For all the lingering tensions between President Donald Trump and former President George W. Bush, Trump's White House has one thing in common with his Republican predecessor's: people.
The Bush influence has only grown stronger recently, as Trump nominated Alex Azar to lead the Health and Human Services Department, where he served under the Bush administration, and tapped Jerome "Jay" Powell to be chairman of the Federal Reserve.
The Bush alums in the administration include Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who served as Bush's labor secretary, and Dina Powell, a deputy national security adviser who oversaw White House personnel and later served in Bush's State Department under Condoleezza Rice.
Trump also branded Bush's brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, as "low-energy Jeb" during the Republican primaries.
The president has yet to comment on the recent Bush criticism.
Bush's former top adviser Karl Rove, for example, has been a vocal critic of Trump, and many former Bush foreign policy advisers denounced Trump's views during the campaign.
According to White House officials it was only natural for Trump to cultivate former members of the Bush administration.
Trump's nominee to head Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, worked for the agency during the Bush administration.
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