WASHINGTON _ President-elect Donald Trump's pool of potential picks for secretary of state doubled since the last reports of how short was his short list.
Trump aides last week said he had whittled down the selection process to four, but ABC News reports Trump is now considering five more people including a retired admiral who Hillary Clinton considered for her running mate, another former presidential candidate, and a senator from the other side of the aisle.
Former presidential hopeful and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is reportedly being considered, with Trump's former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski identifying him as a potential pick. Huntsman served as ambassador to Singapore for President George H.W. Bush and to China during the first two years of President Barack Obama's administration, before he made an unsuccessful run for the GOP nomination in 2012.
But Huntsman and Trump differ on China. Trump has proposed labeling China a currency manipulator while Huntsman said during his campaign that tariffs on Chinese goods could ignite a trade war.
Another potential pick is Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a Democrat who campaigned for Hillary Clinton. Manchin met with Trump last week and was floated as a potential energy secretary.
Manchin sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee and would otherwise face a tough re-election race in a state where Trump won every county. But Manchin's daughter Heather Bresch, who is CEO of Mylan, has come under criticism after the price of EpiPens was significantly increased.
A senior transition official told ABC that the team is also considering retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis, who at one time Clinton had considered for her ticket. Stavridis' office told the network that he would meet with Trump on Thursday.
And former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton's name popped up again. Bolton was an early favorite for the position but was thought to had eliminated from consideration. Bolton was a proponent of the war in Iraq, while Trump has repeatedly claimed he opposed it, though videotape footage has proven otherwise.
Trump aides had told multiple outlets last week that Trump had narrowed his search to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former CIA Director and retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, and Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker.
