Trump transition shake-up part of 'Stalinesque purge' of Christie loyalists

President-elect Donald Trump is shaking up his transition effort just a week after his upset win, ousting former Rep. Mike Rogers from the team in what one source called a "Stalinesque purge of people close" to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Rogers confirmed his exit in a statement that said that, despite his departure, he planned to continue to "provide advice and counsel as needed to the incoming Trump administration."

SEE ALSO: 'Mike Pence' is making a ton of donations to Planned Parenthood


"It was a privilege to prepare and advise the policy, personnel and agency action teams on all aspects of the national security portfolio during the initial pre-election planning phase. Our work will provide a strong foundation for the new transition team leadership as they move into the post-election phase, which naturally is incorporating the campaign team in New York who drove President-elect Trump to an incredible victory last Tuesday," Rogers said in the statement.

Rogers was initially seen as a leading candidate for CIA director, but now is likely off the list, a source tells NBC News. Rep. Devin Nunes, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is now a top contender.

Figures that Politico has named as possible picks for Trump's cabinet

His departure follows Christie's demotion from head of the team to a vice-chair, with Vice President-elect Mike Pence taking over for him last week.

The purge indicates the emphasis on loyalty — and significant influence of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, husband of Ivanka — that characterized Trump's campaign will carry over into his White House.

Multiple sources indicated that Christie was demoted because he wasn't seen as sufficiently loyal to Trump, failing to vocally defend him at key moments on the campaign trail.

But he has long been in a precarious position with Trump, due in part, multiple sources say, to a longstanding grudge sparked when Christie prosecuted Kushner's father in 2004. Due to Christie's investigation, Charles Kushner eventually pleaded guilty to 18 felony counts, including tax fraud and witness tampering, and was sentenced to two years in federal prison.

%vine-url="https://vine.co/v/5Ta30eO7FbW"%

Rogers' exit and Christie's demotion are the latest wrinkles in a transition process that's gotten off to a rocky start following Trump's unexpected blowout win last week.

Trump over the weekend named RNC Chair Reince Priebus his chief of staff and Breitbart Founder Steve Bannon chief strategist, earning plaudits with the first but backlash over the former, because of Bannon's controversial comments on minorities and Breitbart's often incendiary reporting, among other issues.

In a separate development, Eliot Cohen, a senior State Department official under George W. Bush who blasted Trump during the campaign, ripped into the president-elect's transition effort Tuesday.

Cohen, one of 122 Republican national security figures who signed an open letter last spring opposing Trump's candidacy, had written an essay last week in which he suggested that military and intelligence officials "continue to do their jobs."