Trump Transition Team Announces a Hire, Then Denies It Ever Happened

After The Intercept reported that Veronica Birkenstock runs a recruitment firm that secures visas for cheap temporary foreign workers, she vanished from Trump's Labor Department transition team.

HEMPSTEAD, NY - SEPTEMBER 26:  Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump looks on during the Presidential Debate at Hofstra University on September 26, 2016 in Hempstead, New York.  The first of four debates for the 2016 Election, three Presidential and one Vice Presidential, is moderated by NBC's Lester Holt.  (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
HEMPSTEAD, NY - SEPTEMBER 26: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump looks on during the Presidential Debate at Hofstra University on September 26, 2016 in Hempstead, New York. The first of four debates for the 2016 Election, three Presidential and one Vice Presidential, is moderated by NBC's Lester Holt. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Intercept reported earlier this week that Veronica Birkenstock, who runs a recruitment firm that secures visas for cheap temporary foreign workers, had been appointed to President-elect Donald Trump’s Department of Labor transition team.

We knew this because Birkenstock’s name appeared on a list of individuals in an announcement on the Trump transition’s website on Tuesday.

But by Thursday, her name had disappeared from the team’s website.

Asked what had happened to Birkenstock, a spokesperson for the transition team responded: “This individual was never part of the team and has no role.”

Here is a screengrab of her listing in the original release, derived from Google’s cached version:

If you look at the same release now, she’s gone.

Neither Birkenstock nor her firm could be reached for comment.

The Intercept’s story on Tuesday noted that her selection stood in total opposition to Trump’s pledge to “investigate all abuses of visa programs that undercut the American worker.”

Top photo: Trump at the first presidential debate in Hempstead, New York, on Sept. 26.

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