Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty suggested Sunday that Americans don’t care about the FBI’s traditional background checks on presidents-elect. Donald TrumpCabinet picks as Democrats demand deeper vetting of executive branch nominees.
Hagerty, R-Tenn., said Sunday that Americans “don’t know” who conducts background checks on presidential candidates when asked about the FBI’s role by former Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth.
Asked about the common practice of conducting FBI background checks on presidential nominees, Hagerty told host Jon Carla that it’s more important for Americans to start working on the “mandate” voted for by the American people than an FBI background check.
“I don’t think the American public cares who does the background check. What the American public is interested in is seeing the mandate they voted for be delivered,” Hagerty said in an interview. ABC’s “This Week.”
“We have to start again. Strengthening our military is absolutely essential. I think we’re looking for a chance to do that,” Hagerty added.
Hegseth was Trump’s pick to head the Department of Defense accused of sexual assault In 2017. According to a police report released earlier this month, the unidentified woman told police at the time that Hegsett took her phone and prevented her from leaving her hotel room before sexually assaulting her after the Republican Women’s Convention in California.
Hegseth has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged. Her attorney, Timothy Parlatore, said the report’s description of surveillance footage from the hotel where the unnamed woman met Hegseth and police interviews with other people at the hotel prove her innocence.
An FBI background check, which is typically used during confirmation procedures, will likely look into claims like these.
Trump’s team did not say why it did not subject its nominees to background checks, and a request for comment from the transition team was not immediately returned.
But Democratic lawmakers have argued that background checks for potential nominees are a critical tool when vetting potential high-level appointees.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that the FBI can’t evaluate Cabinet-level candidates without background checks, adding that the practice is used to secure even lower-level government jobs.
“We’re demanding these background checks on DEA agents – drug enforcement agents. We are asking them to be prosecutors for the first time for the federal government. Why don’t we get these background checks for the most important jobs in the US government?” Klobuchar noted that Republicans will decide whether Trump is fit for the job, regardless of background checks.
Many Republican lawmakers agreed, rejecting the idea of eliminating FBI background checks.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, RN.D., said the FBI can have access to information that private firms can’t and won’t be able to conduct a more thorough review.
“If you want to complete it with a private firm, I would say OK. But the FBI probably has access to information that a private firm, or even a really good sleuth, wouldn’t have access to.” The Hill said.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, also said the FBI should conduct background checks, while Sen. Mike Rounds, RSD, said if the FBI didn’t check candidates and the job was outsourced to a private firm, lawmakers would “want to know the credibility of the people doing the background checks.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said it is “routine” for the FBI to conduct inspections.
“I understand there’s mistrust from some different agencies, and the FBI is not immune to that, but I think it’s vital that you have a thorough level of vetting, especially in terms of national security,” Murkowski said. The Hill said.
Last week, Reps. Don Beyer, D-Va., and Ted Lieu, D-Calif., issued press statements saying they Security Oversight Act Codifying the FBI’s role in conducting background checks for employees of the Executive Office of the President, such as Cabinet members.between reports “President-elect Donald Trump and his advisers intend to bypass traditional background checks to grant security clearances to political appointees.”
While the bill would require background checks for all high-level administration positions, some of Trump’s choices in particular have raised concerns among Democratic senators. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., told Dana Bash on CNN “The Russian-controlled media called him a Russian asset,” Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, said on Sunday.
Gabbard, a former Democratic congressman from Hawaii, caused a stir after Trump tapped him for a top intelligence post. Gabbard did not condemn Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. to follow a pattern favoring the country and other authoritarian regimes. Gabbard Traveled in 2017 Although the United States does not have diplomatic relations with this country, meeting with the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
There’s Gabbard denied the charges he is a mouthpiece for Russia or the Syrian regime. Gabbard’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.
“The U.S. intelligence community has determined that he has troubling relationships with America’s adversaries, and so my concern is that he may not pass a background check,” Duckworth told Bash.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told the Bash later Sunday that Duckworth’s comments were “dangerous” and politically motivated.
“Tammy is absolutely wrong about this and she needs to take those words back. “The most dangerous thing he could say is that the United States lieutenant colonel and the United States Army are compromised and that Russia is an asset,” Mullin said, adding that “it’s actually sad to hear him say that.”
In a view on Sunday NBCs “Meet Press,” Sen. Eric Schmidt, R-Mo. He said it was a “glory” to call Gabbard a “Russian fortune”.
“I think it’s really interesting that now everyone with a different political view is presented as an asset of Russia. … I think it’s an insult. Honestly, it’s a shame. You know, there’s no evidence that he’s the wealth of another country,” Schmitt said, adding that he’s confident all of Trump’s picks will be properly vetted before they go through the Senate confirmation process.
In response to Schmitt’s interview, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said he would not describe Gabbard as “probably a Russian asset,” but that she “certainly reiterated talking points for the Kremlin.”
“The problem is that if our foreign allies don’t trust our intelligence chief, they’re going to stop sharing information with us. That makes our country less safe. That’s why I have deep concerns about him,” he told the moderator. Kristen Welker.
Schiff also pointed to the selection of former President Matt Gaetz as attorney general, arguing that the president-elect’s “lack of background checks for his nominees is flawed.” hasty retreat amid allegations of sexual abuse that exposed a “flaw in the process.”
“With the FBI reviewing potential candidates, this vetting process is not only to protect the public interest, but also to protect the interests of the president-elect, to make sure that he doesn’t embarrass himself by nominating someone like Matt Gaetz. So, I think that shows that. The flaw in the process is his even put forward his candidacy,” he said.
Another Trump Cabinet pick is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been appointed to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. yesetc faced with allegations from sexual abuse. Kennedy responded to the charges against him saying: “I said in my announcement speech that I have so many skeletons in my closet that if they all could vote, I could run for king of the world.” He apologized to the accuser NBC News reports that this year over text messages.