Donald Trump has 70 days to build a government and figure out how to run it, but some of his allies are spending the early days of his transition plotting revenge against those they believe slighted Trump — and them.

Since Trump’s shocking upset victory in Tuesday’s presidential election, several people who worked on his team have discussed ways to punish Republicans who were hostile to the New York billionaire’s anti-establishment campaign, including blocking them from administration or transition posts, or lucrative consulting work, according to a handful of people involved in the conversations.

They say that Republicans who opposed — or were seen as insufficiently supportive of — Trump have had their entreaties rejected by people around the president-elect, some of whom have expressed wonderment that former bitter critics are now asking for jobs, lobbying leads and even Inauguration tickets.

“My phone is ringing off the hook with people who were on the outs asking how they can get into Trump world,” said one operative who worked with Trump’s campaign. “I’m telling them there is no f—ing way they’re getting inside.”

Even before Trump shocked the political world on Tuesday, one leading Republican policy adviser recalled being told second-hand that he was “non grata” within Trump Tower for his outspoken criticism of the real estate showman-turned-candidate.

And the website seen as the unofficial news organ of Trump World, Breitbart News — which was co-founded by Trump’s campaign chairman and possible White House chief of staff Steve Bannon — has signaled that it intends to continue its crusade against House Speaker Paul Ryan. Trump clashed throughout the campaign with Ryan, whose support for Trump wavered between nonexistent and tepid, though the president-elect and House speaker have presented a united frontsince the election, praising one another after a Thursday meeting on Capitol Hill.

A source close to Trump stressed that the president-elect’s team is willing to work with Republicans who backed Trump’s rivals in the GOP primary, and even those who occasionally called out Trump — but added that some crossed a line.

“It’s one thing not to have been for him or to have had a disagreement, but if you went out of your way to be an a–hole, then we’re not going to helpful,” the source said.

The source suggested that Trump’s political operation would steer business away from Republicans who were involved in the #NeverTrump effort to block Trump from the GOP nomination. Comparing one of the effort’s leading operatives to a Hollywood actor who threatened to leave the country if Trump was elected, the source said, “Katie Packer should see if Bryan Cranston has an extra room in Canada.”

Packer responded by cracking that she “fully expected to be rounded up and sent to a detention camp, so if that’s the best they’ve got, then that’s a relief!” More seriously, she suggested that “if Trump allows sentiments like that to go unchecked,” it will undermine his claim during his victory speech early Wednesday that he wants to unite the country after the divisive election.

Tactically, the desire for revenge among some Trump allies could run headlong into the stark reality that the president-elect now faces. His transition team is scrambling to recruit thousands of people to fill administration positions — posts that require expertise of the sort that is prevalent among the Republican professional class.

But many in that orbit kept their distance from Trump and some have signaled they’re still unwilling to work for him, which limits the pool from which he can draw, even without proactively excluding others. Meanwhile, many in Trump’s relatively small group of loyalists lack relevant high-level government experience or relationships with veteran policy or political professionals.

To be sure, it’s common for incoming presidents to steer plum administration or political gigs to their supporters, and away from those who opposed them.

But, while new administrations typically mete out revenge and rewards in subtle ways, Trump’s style is anything but subtle.

He has openly litigated grievances against a range of perceived enemies — from business rivals to journalists to politicians — for all manner of perceived slights.

Some of Trump’s advisers have been urging him to cool his penchant for retaliation, and one told POLITICO he seems receptive.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/trump-teams-revenge-231222