The Trump transition team declined repeated requests for comment Tuesday, but Trump previewed his response on Twitter Wednesday morning. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2017The news conference comes at an intense political moment as key Cabinet nominees face a grilling on Capitol Hill Wednesday. "This is a possibly a useful throat-clearing exercise for Mr. Trump to start trying out some of the themes of the presidency," said CNN presidential historian Timothy Naftali. At the moment, there is very little difference between the pre-election messaging of Mr. Trump and the transition messaging of Mr. Trump," said Naftali, who also teaches at New York University. Several Trump cabinet nominees, including his pick for secretary of state, former ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson are facing confirmation hearings.

Source: CNN January 11, 2017 11:03 UTC