Sources blame his son-in-law

Donald Trump's son-in-law and close adviser Jared Kushner is at the center of the "infighting" inside President-elect Donald Trump's transition team, multiple sources tell CNN.

Trump, however, tweeted Tuesday night that the process was "very organized."

"Very organized process taking place as I decide on Cabinet and many other positions. I am the only one who knows who the finalists are!" he said.

Despite his lack of political experience, the businessman is believed often to have the final word in advising Trump, according to The New York Times, which expects him "to wield great influence over the new president."

That influence is already playing out at Trump Tower, where the president-elect's team has been taking shape since the end of last week -- in a process reportedly fraught with vicious infighting.

Sources tied to the transition team talking to CNN described the organization's internal disagreements -- mainly divided along the lines of establishment Republican operatives against more non-traditional influences on national security issues -- as a "knife fight" on Monday.

When two transition officials were ousted Tuesday, The New York Times reported that they were victims of a purge orchestrated by Kushner.

Trump transition official Jason Miller dismissed the reports as "palace intrigue". But several US media similarly reported that Kushner was working to drive out associates of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who himself was removed Friday as head of the transition team.

The feud is personal: back in 2004, then-US attorney Christie prosecuted and jailed Kushner's father for tax evasion, witness tampering.

The Harvard graduate, analysts said, earned Trump's trust though sheer hard work on the election trail where he is believed to have written several of the candidate's speeches and played a key role in promoting his message on social media.