Trump closes companies tied to Saudi Arabia

President-elect Donald Trump, with Michael Flynn, nominee for national security adviser (left), and Ohio State University Police Chief Craig Stone, arrives to speak with reporters Thursday after visiting with people affected by the recent knife attack at the Columbus campus.
President-elect Donald Trump, with Michael Flynn, nominee for national security adviser (left), and Ohio State University Police Chief Craig Stone, arrives to speak with reporters Thursday after visiting with people affected by the recent knife attack at the Columbus campus.

5:25 P.M. UPDATE:

WASHINGTON — Corporate registrations in Delaware show that President-elect Donald Trump shut down some of his companies in the days after the election, including four companies that appeared connected to a possible Saudi Arabia business venture.

News of the move comes days before Trump was expected to describe changes he is making to his businesses to avoid potential conflicts of interest as the U.S. president.

The Trump Organization's general counsel, Alan Garten, told The Associated Press that the business currently has no deals in Saudi Arabia.

Garten said he did not know why those companies were set up or whether they were involved a previously planned business venture.

He said the closure of corporate entities was routine.

Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

2:15 P.M. UPDATE:

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to pick Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn for an influential White House economic post.

That's according to two people informed of the decision.

The 56-year-old Cohn would lead the White House National Economic Council. The posting would require him to leave his $21 million a year job as president and chief operating officer at Goldman.

[TRUMP: Timeline of president-elect’s career + list of appointments so far]

Trump repeatedly vilified the Wall Street bank on the campaign trail. Yet with the choice of Cohn, he's now named three of its alumni to key positions in his coming administration.

The people informed of the decision spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the expected move.

Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

EARLIER:

NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump is rallying supporters in Louisiana on Friday ahead of the state's Senate runoff election, aiming to pad the Republican majority he will inherit.

Trump was campaigning for Republican John Kennedy in Baton Rouge and then making another stop on his "thank you" tour in Grand Rapids, Mich., a state that helped him prevail against Democrat Hillary Clinton in last month's election. Ahead of his trip, he was meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan to discuss policy priorities.

The president-elect has been splitting his time of late between meeting with potential Cabinet secretaries and traveling to the states that helped him win the White House. He spent Thursday in Ohio, meeting with the victims of an attack by a knife-wielding Ohio State University student, and in Iowa, where he appeared alongside Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, his pick to be the next ambassador to China.

"The script is not yet written. We do not know what the page will read tomorrow. But for the first time in a long time we know the pages will be authored by each and every one of you," Trump said at Des Moines' Hy-Vee Hall, where he offered promises to heal a divided nation along with trademark boasts about the size of his victories.

Kennedy, the state treasurer, faces off Saturday against Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell, a Democrat, for the seat of retiring Republican Sen. David Vitter. Neither won a majority in the November primary, leading to the runoff. Polls have shown Kennedy with a comfortable lead.

Republicans will have a narrow 52-48 Senate majority next year if they maintain the Louisiana seat. Trump has backed Kennedy, and Vice President-elect Mike Pence campaigned for him last week in New Orleans, saying a Kennedy win would "put an exclamation point at the end of a great American victory in 2016."

Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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