while president-elect donald trump <u+2019>s inner circle jockeys for<u+00a0>high-level white house posts, an eclectic collection of lesser known loyalists also are flagging their interest in posts in the new administration. from mr. trump<u+2019>s personal physician, harold bornstein, who wrote a letter saying that mr. trump would be <u+201c>the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency,<u+201d> to sajid tarar, a muslim and the head of a maryland nonprofit who delivered a benediction at the republican national convention, the<u+00a0>campaign elevated an unconventional cast of characters into the political mainstream. both mr. bornstein and mr. tarar said they might be interested in working in the new administration. <u+201c>very nice!<u+201d> said trump spokeswoman hope hicks when asked about interest in the administration by some of his most faithful supporters. trump allies say they expect the first president who has never either held public office or served in the military to bring to the white house the same democratic approach of his campaign, in which loyalty and charisma were frequently prized over experience and gravitas.<u+00a0>what may have looked like chaos and mismanagement to some of mr. trump<u+2019>s critics was a breath of fresh air to some supporters. <u+201c>i think we will be surprised by many trump appointees and when we contemplate that surprise we will start smiling,<u+201d> said u.s. rep. chris collins of new york, co-chairman of mr. trump<u+2019>s house leadership committee, who said he told mr. trump during a phone conversation on wednesday that he wasn<u+2019>t personally interested in an administration job. mr. collins was a self-described back-bencher when he became mr. trump<u+2019>s first supporter on capitol hill in february. now he<u+2019>s serving on the president-elect<u+2019>s transition team executive committee and pitching himself as a leading liaison between the house and the white house. <u+201c>for years i wasn<u+2019>t seeking the spotlight and was comfortable sitting in the background, but now i have a unique opportunity," said mr. collins, who was just re-elected to his third term. mr. trump<u+2019>s transition team has created a website,<u+00a0>www.greatagain.gov, that advertises jobs for some 4,000 presidential appointees. the online application, first posted<u+00a0>on thursday, warns <u+201c>the time commitment is significant and the pace is fast.<u+201d> for some trump supporters, especially the early ones, who weathered the highs and lows of his improbable campaign, joining him in washington, d.c., would extend what has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. lynnette hardaway and rochelle richardson, otherwise known as diamond and silk, had a cult following on youtube when they posted a video attacking fox news anchor megyn kelly for pressing mr. trump about his attitudes toward women at the first republican primary debate. the sisters and longtime democrats emerged as two of mr. trump<u+2019>s most impassioned supporters on social media, talking directly to the camera and filleting his critics with sass. the women said they would be interested in jobs in washington, d.c., related to <u+201c>race relations and unifying the country.<u+201d> <u+201c>it would be great if mr. trump could start a whole new committee and diamond and silk could head that up,<u+201d> said ms. hardaway. <u+201c>if mr. trump sees something in you, he<u+2019>s not concerned with how many degrees you have or where you<u+2019>ve been.<u+201d> mark burns was a small-town preacher from south carolina and the owner of a fledgling christian network when he became an early african-american backer of mr. trump one year ago. using a call-and-response style popular in black churches at trump rallies, mr. burns was an outspoken and high-decibel defender of mr. trump against allegations of racism. he said he envisioned himself working in a trump administration in a capacity like the rev. jesse jackson, who has traveled internationally to negotiate for the release of political prisoners and advocate for human rights. <u+201c>if i was asked, because i have a passion for<u+00a0>unifying and bringing people together,<u+201d> he said. omarosa manigault, a star of mr. trump<u+2019>s former reality television show <u+201c>the apprentice,<u+201d> worked as the campaign<u+2019>s director of african-american outreach. unlike many of mr. trump<u+2019>s surrogates, she has worked in washington before, for vice president al gore. she said she plans to return to her job at her church and as a military chaplain, but would heed the call of duty if it came. <u+201c>it is an honor to serve your country, and if mr. trump called me to serve this great nation, then i would proudly do that in whatever role he deems my talents are significant for,<u+201d> she said shortly before the polls closed on election day. ms. manigault was vice chairwoman of a group called the national diversity coalition for mr. trump that pushed back against widespread criticism of mr. trump<u+2019>s proposal to ban muslim immigrants and references to immigrants as criminals. the group<u+2019>s executive director, bruce levell, who owns an atlanta-area jewelry store and once served as chairman of the gwinett county gop, said he didn<u+2019>t get involved in the campaign in order to finagle a political job.<u+00a0> but now that mr. trump won the election, he is feeling the pull to washington. <u+201c>we<u+2019>ve become very close in this battle, and we can<u+2019>t just abandon our family members,<u+201d> said mr. levell, who visited mr. trump in his office tower on election day.<u+00a0> <u+201c>we can<u+2019>t just put him on the school bus and watch it go. we want to get on the bus with him.<u+201d> the chief executive of the group, pastor darrell scott, said he would never leave his church in cleveland heights, ohio, which mr. trump visited in september for a town hall meeting. <u+201c>if i got a job in d.c., i<u+2019>d get fired,<u+201d> he said, explaining that he wouldn<u+2019>t conform to the typical government workday hours. <u+201c>i hope the president doesn<u+2019>t ask me to come because i would have to say no.<u+201d> comedian joe piscopo, best known for his frank sinatra impression on nbc<u+2019>s <u+201c>saturday<u+00a0>night live<u+201d> in the early 80s, was only half-joking<u+00a0>friday<u+00a0>when he said on his new york city radio talk show that he should join the trump administration. in an interview minutes later with the wall street journal, mr. piscopo quipped that he could lead the president<u+2019>s council on fitness because <u+201c>i work out and i<u+2019>ve never used steroids.<u+201d> growing more serious, he said he recently told republican national committee chairman reince priebus<u+2014>a contender for mr. trump<u+2019>s chief of staff<u+2014>that he was interested in leading an initiative to revitalize the inner cities. <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t know if there<u+2019>s a cabinet position for me, but with donald trump you never know,<u+201d> said mr. piscopo, whose interest in politics is evident by his potential bid for governor of new jersey.<u+00a0><u+201c>i think that will be the strength of his administration, that he will bring regular people in.<u+201d> write to beth reinhard at beth.reinhard@wsj.com
eclectic mix of loyalists look to posts in donald trump<u+2019>s administration  - wsj
beth reinhard