TRANSITION: Priebus flexes muscle in Trump Tower.

Reince Priebus is never far from Donald Trump’s side.

The outgoing chairman of the Republican National Committee and incoming White House chief of staff often joins Trump when he interviews candidates for his Cabinet in his cozy Trump Tower office. He accompanies Trump at high-level meetings, like their well-publicized dinner with Mitt Romney.

And he frequently makes jaunts with the president-elect in Trump’s jet, from a victory rally in Priebus’s native Wisconsin to a recent Army-Navy football game.

The consummate D.C. insider, Priebus has not just emerged as Trump’s public liaison to a still-skeptical GOP establishment; the 44-year-old political operative has also become a trusted adviser to and staunch defender of the president-elect, even as he competes for power and influence with rivals like Stephen Bannon and Kellyanne Conway, who were with Trump from the beginning.

Those who have been in the room with both Trump and Priebus say they wouldn’t describe Priebus as deferential to his new boss. In fact, Priebus appears at ease with Trump. He doesn’t hesitate to interject and offer his opinion, and the two often banter back and forth.

That’s not surprising to me.