President-elect Donald Trump said, despite some reports, he has not given up on his commitment to eliminate the influence of career politicians in Washington, or drain the swamp, as he called it during his presidential campaign.
He made the statement in a tweet:
Though he did not name anyone, he appeared to be making a reference to onetime House Speaker Newt Gingrich, one of a handful of Trump supporters who recently brought up his "drain the swamp" statements.
Gingrich said Wednesday he had heard Trump no longer was using that expression.
"He now says it was cute, but he doesn't want to use it anymore," Gingrich said.
But, barely 20 minutes after Trump's tweet Thursday, Gingrich walked back his statement as a mistake.
Also, former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said Thursday he believed any "draining" was on the low end of Trump's list of priorities.
"I think 'drain the swamp' is somewhere down the bottom . . . Draining the swamp is a larger narrative, but it is also (about) putting people back to work," Lewandowski said.
Back in November, former Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, said he was skeptical about Trump's plans to cut back the influence of politicians, noting the politicians and business leaders Trump has selected for his Cabinet, are "not exactly the kind of individuals who will change things."
Paul said it is not an easy task.
"I got involved in politics in the early 70s, and my goal was to drain the swamp," he admitted.
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