Rebekah Mercer assumed a more active role in the new administration. For weeks, she was ensconced in Bannon’s office in Trump Tower, serving as an advisor on the selection of nominees to the Trump cabinet. Mercer successfully lobbied for Senator Jeff Sessions to be chosen as attorney general, pushed hard to prevent Mitt Romney from becoming secretary of state, and played a role in the choice of lawyer Jay Clayton to lead the US Securities and Exchange Commission, even as her influence raised some eyebrows due to her father’s position as co-CEO of one of the nation’s largest hedge funds. Later,
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