President-elect Trump’s transition team has signed an agreement under which the FBI will investigate the new administration’s Cabinet nominees, the transition team announced on Tuesday.
says Trump’s team it will “submit names for background checks and security clearances,” an agreement typically signed before the election. Historically, the FBI vets each cabinet nominee and also handles security clearances, a process that couldn’t begin until the deal was made.
“This agreement with the Department of Justice will ensure that President Trump and his team are ready on Day 1 to implement the America First Agenda that an overwhelming majority of our country supported on Election Day,” the new chief of staff said. White House, Susie Wiles. a statement.
Some Senate Republicans expressed concern about the transition team’s initial reluctance to face FBI background checks, and several praised Tuesday’s agreement.
President-elect Trump has agreed to let the FBI investigate his Cabinet nominees. (Allison Robbert-Pool/Getty Images)
“I think that’s good — it will save them some headaches,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., according to Politico. “And it will provide some comfort to the public and to the senators, I think, so I’m glad to hear that.”
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Trump and his allies have been openly critical of the FBI, both during the campaign and since the election. Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to lead the organization has been a crusader against the “deep state” since Trump’s first term, repeating Republican claims that Democrats have “weaponized” the FBI.
Side by side Kash Patel and newly elected President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)
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“Kash did a tremendous job during my first term, serving as Chief of Staff at the Department of Defense, Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Senior Director of Counterterrorism at the National Security Council. Kash has also tried over sixty jury trials,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday.
“This FBI will end America’s growing crime epidemic, dismantle criminal immigrant gangs, and end the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the border. Kash will work under our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to bring back loyalty and courage. and integrity for the FBI,” he added.
FBI Director Christopher Wray will be replaced by Kash Patel, who worked in the Pentagon during Trump’s first term. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Patel’s name spread in news reports when he became known as the man behind the “Nunes Memo,” a four-page document from then-Rep. Devin Nunes, R-California, released in 2018 showing improper use surveillance by the FBI and the Justice Department in Russia investigation into Trump.
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“If they had done it right at all, when Devin and I and so many others actually put out the truth, instead of serving as a disinformation machine for the leftist agenda, there would be no reassessment,” Patel told me. Fox News Digital from last year’s memo. “They couldn’t have done their work in the deep state without their partners in the mainstream media, who are part of that deep state.”
Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
