Trump to hold more meetings with state secretary contenders

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's transition team said Monday that he will be meeting with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former CIA director David Petraeus, who are both believed to be running for the secretary of state position.

The meetings with Petraeus and Romney will be on Monday and Tuesday respectively, the team said in a routine conference call.

A meeting with another possible pick, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Bob Corker, is also scheduled for Tuesday.

"The president-elect is really taking these meetings very seriously," Trump spokesman Jason Miller said.

The development came at a time when the race for the top U.S. diplomatic post is heating up and creating rifts among Trump's inner circle.

Kellyanne Conway, Trump's former campaign manager, openly questioned Romney's loyalty Sunday, allegedly drawing ire from other Trump advisors who deemed Conway's action "dangerous."

Romney has been a fierce critic of Trump during the election, but proponents say selecting him would go along way in showing that Trump is ready to mend fences with past adversaries.

Petraeus served as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2011 to 2012, he resigned after the FBI looked into an affair he had with his biographer that had involved mishandling of confidential information.

Corker, 64, has been an U.S. Senator representing Tennessee since 2006.

Former New York City mayor and long time Trump supporter Rudy Giuliani is also publicly pursuing the sought-after position. Enditem