Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
A former official under George W. Bush has warned Republicans to “stay away” from Donald Trump’s “arrogant” and “angry” team. Eliot Cohen, a senior counselor for the Bush State Department from 2007 to 2009, had previously published an open letter advising Republicans to “say yes” if offered a spot on Trump’s team. But on Tuesday, after an interaction with the team, Cohen took to Twitter to voice his disappointment. “After exchange w Trump transition team, changed my recommendation: stay away,” he wrote. “They’re angry, arrogant, screaming ‘you LOST!’ Will be ugly.” Cohen later elaborated on his stark warning in an op-ed published in The Washington Post. “Conservative political types should not volunteer to serve in this administration, at least for now,” he wrote. Offering reassurances that “this too will pass,” he advised conservatives to hang on until “a more normal kind of administration” takes over. “Trump was not a normal candidate, the transition is not a normal transition, and this will probably not be a normal administration,” he said. “The president-elect is surrounding himself with mediocrities whose chief qualification seems to be unquestioning loyalty.”