Those divergent views will pose a challenge for the incoming administration.

The president-elect's pick for budget director, Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R., S.C.), has opposed raising the debt ceiling, but Mr. Trump has proposed steep tax cuts and large increases in defense and infrastructure spending that many economists believe will cause the deficit to grow.

Several of his cabinet selections backed a trade deal negotiated by President Barack Obama with Asian nations, which Mr. Trump opposed and has vowed to abandon.

His choice for the State Department, Rex Tillerson, has said he believes science proves climate change is being caused in part by human behavior, something Mr. Trump in the past has called a "hoax."

Wilbur Ross, his selection for commerce secretary; Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who's been tapped to become ambassador to China; and his selection for defense secretary, retired Gen. James Mattis, have all spoken favorably of the Obama administration's proposed trade deal with Asian countries, called the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Mr. Trump has promised to end this trade deal as part of his initiative to redraw U.S. trade rules.