In or Out? Christie's Fate Is Tough to Call

Maybe the toughest question to answer in the midst of Donald Trump's effort to assemble his administration is the status of Chris Christie. The New Jersey governor met with Trump on Sunday, nine days after being dumped suddenly as head of the transition team, and afterward the president-elect called him a "great guy" but didn't commit to offering him a position, reports the Asbury Park Press. Some related coverage on their complicated ties:

• Two big factors have played a role in Christie's "fall from grace," as Politico puts it. One is that Trump got worried about revelations from the Bridgegate trial that Christie knew about the scheme all along; the other is that Trump was ticked that Christie filled the transition operation with lobbyists. Read the feature here.

• In its own analysis, Yahoo News reports that a small thing also irked Trump: He felt that Christie was aggressively pushing to get into photo ops during Trump's victory speech on election night. Full story here.
• The Washington Post also digs in to the various theories, concluding: "What is clear is that Christie has become an object lesson of the perils that face those who try to navigate Donald Trump’s world, a place where loyalty is demanded, but not always one where it is returned in kind." Full story here.
• One columnist thinks that Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner torpedoed Christie as revenge for Christie's prosecution of his dad years ago. Read it here.
• "It seems Christie underestimated Kushner’s loyalty to his family, and Trump’s loyalty to his," writes Olivia Nuzzi at the Daily Beast, who says signs point to an exit for the "loyal footman" Christie.
• We could know more after Monday, because Christie has called a rare meeting of his own Cabinet in the morning, and he will be on a radio call-in show in the evening, reports NJ.com. One Seton Hall professor says it's possible Christie will tell his Cabinet he's resigning, then make it public on the radio. "That would make sense," he says. "But the opposite also makes sense. He could be telling the cabinet he is staying until the end."

(More Chris Christie stories.)