The list of potential secretaries of state to serve in Donald Trump's administration now stands at five, and the transition team is reportedly still trying to decide who would be a better fit.
Through spokesman Jason Miller, the team downplayed an alleged internal dispute on whether to choose former presidential candidate Mitt Romney or former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, The Hill reports.
With the search for America's top diplomat ongoing, however, Trump is adding names to his shopping cart as he seeks the best person for the job.
Besides Romney, who was opposed to Trump's candidacy, and Giuliani, Marine Gen. John F. Kelly, retired Gen. and former CIA director David Petraeus, and Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) are in the running for the job, The New York Times reports.
Corker has served in the Senate since 2007 and for the last two years has chaired the Foreign Relations Committee. He told CNBC last week he's "had some conversations" with Trump's transition team about the secretary of state job.
Giuliani has been on the list of potential secretaries of state since around the Nov. 8 election, with others such as former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton being mentioned as well.
Romney's place on the list, however, raised eyebrows because he was so strongly against Trump running for president.
In March, Romney said this about the real estate mogul: "Dishonesty is Trump's landmark."
Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway appeared to note concerns about choosing Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee for president. On Twitter, she wrote:
In a second tweet, Conway appeared to cite the importance of loyalty:
Giuliani has been publicly discussing the job. At first, he was expected to be a top contender due to his support of Trump during the campaign, but The Hill reported that Giuliani's foreign business concerns could endanger his chances.
The New York Times said that a joke by Giuliani upset Trump; Giuliani joked that he would be better at the job than Bolton.
Civil rights attorney Alan Dershowitz said that Giuliani would make a good pick for the position, saying, "There's no one tougher… no one smarter."
Joe Scarborough, the host of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," rebuked the idea of Giuliani for the job; he said Giuliani had boxed Trump in to offering him the job, and called that move by the former mayor "classless."
Sen. Rand Paul weighed in on Romney as possible secretary, saying he would be an "even-keel" choice.
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