Brownback, Kobach headed to Trump’s inauguration

Gov. Sam Brownback and Secretary of State Kris Kobach will attend President-elect Trump’s inauguration on Friday.

Both men’s names have been floated for possible roles in Trump’s administration.

Brownback served on Trump’s Catholic and agricultural advisory committees during the campaign but has not talked about whether he could land a role in the administration.

Brownback told reporters Wednesday that he was dreading the traffic in Washington, D.C., during the inauguration but that he was looking forward to the start of a new administration.

“I’m hopeful for the new administration,” he said. “Normally, a new administration gets a honeymoon time period where people kind of (go), ‘OK, the election’s over, let’s kind of back off and see what they bring forward. They won.’ That’s not happening this cycle, which I think is lamentable, because I do think it’s an important part of the process for people to say ‘the election is over, let’s see what you do’ … and that’s not happening.”

Trump will enter office with a historically low approval rating. A poll by the Wall Street Journal and NBC found that 52 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump, while 44 percent say they approve.

For comparison, President Obama entered office in 2009 with a 71 percent approval rating. He’ll exit office with a 56 percent approval rating, according to the poll.

“I hope they move forward with a strong agenda on job creation,” Brownback said of the Trump administration. “That’s one that everyone agrees with, and I want to wish them all the best in getting that moving forward.”

Kobach advised Trump on immigration issues throughout the campaign and has met with him on multiple occasions since the election. He confirmed he would attend the inauguration.

“I don’t know where my seat will be. I think I have a VIP seat. … I haven’t seen my ticket, though,” Kobach told reporters.

He wouldn’t answer questions about whether he was still under consideration for a role in the administration. “I will not draw any conclusions, nor should you, from my seat location,” Kobach said.

This story was originally published January 19, 2017 at 7:24 AM with the headline "Brownback, Kobach headed to Trump’s inauguration."