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Pence, Not Christie, Will Lead Trump Transition

By Jim Acosta and Dana Bash

WASHINGTON DC (CNN) -- Vice President-elect Mike Pence will lead the presidential transition now, a source on transition planning told CNN.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who had been in charge, will be vice chairman along with Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn also will serve as transition vice chairmen, sources said.

The source said Pence leading it was not unusual, citing the role of Dick Cheney in George W. Bush's transition.

Pence has relationships with both congressional Republicans and GOP governors. Marc Short and Nick Ayers, two of Pence's top staffers, will be heavily involved, as will Sessions' chief of staff Rick Dearborn, sources told CNN.

The New York Times first reported the shakeup.

Christie released the following statement:

"I am proud to have run the pre-election phase of the transition team along with a thoroughly professional and dedicated team of people. They have prepared an outstanding template for President-elect Trump in all of the requested areas of Agency Review, Policy Implementation, Presidential Personnel and President-Elect and Vice-President-Elect support. As we now enter the post-election phase, I look forward to working with Vice-President Elect Pence and the rest of the leadership team to implement that template as we prepare for January 20, 2017.

I want to thank President-Elect Trump for the opportunity to continue to help lead in this next phase and thank all of the pre-election leadership team for the outstanding work they have done over the six months leading up to Election Day."

The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

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