President-elect defends Boris Epshteyn, who was accused of asking potential nominees to pay fees, amid infighting

An attempt to force the ouster of Boris Epshteyn, a top adviser to Donald Trump, over accusations that he asked potential administration nominees to pay monthly consulting fees in exchange for lobbying for them appeared to have failed as the president-elect came to his defense.

Trump told aides at the Mar-a-Lago club, from where he is running the presidential transition, that he was irritated by what he viewed as an attempt to undercut “my people”, according to two people familiar with the matter.