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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; On his way back to Hazleton Thursday, U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta talked about his first week serving on President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s transition team.</p><p>Barletta, R-Hazleton, said more than 4,000 jobs need to be filled in the Trump administration and, to date, the transition team has received &#8220;way more&#8221; applications, resumes and inquiries than that.</p><p>Barletta said while Trump and his top advisers meet in New York City to discuss who will serve in the presidential cabinet and in top staff positions, Barletta has been meeting with the Washington, D.C. transition team members to sift through thousands of applications for staff jobs.</p><p>&#8220;So far, we have accepted all of the inquiries, resumes and/or applications from people interested in working in the Trump Administration,&#8221; Barletta said. &#8220;Several thousand have been received so far.&#8221;</p><p>Barletta said the committee has been reviewing and categorizing applications.</p><p>&#8220;Those that we feel are potential hirees are then sent to the appropriate people for their review,&#8221; Barletta said. &#8220;Meanwhile, President-elect Trump has been busy selecting his cabinet members.&#8221;</p><p>Barletta said part of the responsibility of the Washington transition team members is to assure the people who will make the final decisions about who gets hired are not inundated with all of the requests that have come in to date.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a lot of work,&#8221; Barletta said. &#8220;But it really is an honor to have a part in this process.&#8221;</p><p>Barletta said he placed a call to Trump Thursday, but he wasn&#8217;t expecting a quick response from the president-elect.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re trying to help as much as we can to assure a smooth transition for him and his administration,&#8221; Barletta said. &#8220;It really is very exciting to be a part of this.&#8221;</p><p>Barletta said Vice President-elect Mike Pence addressed the Washington transition team members Thursday.</p><p>&#8220;He told us the transition is going well,&#8221; Barletta said. &#8220;In New York, they are working on cabinet positions and they already are working on plans for the first 100 days and the first 200 days of their administration.&#8221;</p><p>Barletta feels there has never been anyone better prepared than Trump to hire key people.</p><p>&#8220;He has always been an executive and he has done this many times,&#8221; he said. &#8220;He knows better than anyone the importance of assembling the best possible staff. He will take his time to make sure he has all the right people on his team.&#8221;</p><p>Barletta and his Republican colleague in the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Rep. Tom Marino, of Lycoming Township, co-chaired Trump&#8217;s Pennsylvania campaign. They were the first members of Congress to endorse Trump for the presidency.</p><p>Trump held two rallies at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township, with both attracting 11,000-plus supporters. It paid off as he easily won Luzerne County, garnering 78,000-plus votes to about 52,000 votes for Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump&#8217;s margin of victory here &#8212; by some 26,000 votes &#8212; represented about 40 percent of his margin of victory in Pennsylvania.</p><p>According to an Associated Press story, Trump deepened his focus on national security Thursday, preparing to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after talks with Henry Kissinger as a possible contender to be his top diplomat.</p><p>The AP story also said Trump rolled out new teams that will interact with the State Department, Pentagon, Justice Department and other national security agencies. The move is a crucial part of the government transition before Trump&#8217;s Jan. 20 inauguration.</p><p>In Washington, where Barletta was attending meetings, the AP story said Pence huddled with House Republicans on Capitol Hill and also planned to meet with Democratic leaders. Lawmakers said part of Pence&#8217;s mission is to tell fellow Republicans the transition effort wis proceeding smoothly, despite reports of chaos and infighting.</p><p>AP said Trump&#8217;s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, expected initial announcements of cabinet choices to come &#8220;either before or after Thanksgiving&#8221; and told MSNBC&#8217;s &#8220;Morning Joe&#8221; program, &#8220;It&#8217;s Donald Trump and Donald Trump alone who makes the ultimate decisions.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Anthony Scaramucci, a member of President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s transition team executive committee, and founder and co-managing partner of investment firm SkyBridge Capital, talks with members of the media at Trump Tower in New York Thursday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_AP16322705410825-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Anthony Scaramucci, a member of President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s transition team executive committee, and founder and co-managing partner of investment firm SkyBridge Capital, talks with members of the media at Trump Tower in New York Thursday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Associated Press photo </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_donaldtrump06-1-1-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, left, was one of a handful of politicians Donald Trump, right, called up on stage during his October campaign rally at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_donaldtrump06-1-1-4.jpg</photo2><caption2>U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, left, was one of a handful of politicians Donald Trump, right, called up on stage during his October campaign rally at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle. The Associated Press contributed to this story.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Barletta says Trump Transition Team sifting through thousands of applications