Trump transition signs agreement for FBI background checks
President-elect Trump's transition team has signed on to an agreement for the FBI to vet the incoming administration's cabinet nominees, the transition team announced Tuesday.
Trump's team says it will "submit names for background checks and security clearances," an agreement typically signed even before the election. The FBI historically vets each cabinet nominee and also handles security clearances, a process that could not begin until the agreement was made.
"This agreement with the Department of Justice will ensure President Trump and his team are ready on Day 1 to begin enacting the America First Agenda that an overwhelming majority of our nation supported on Election Day," incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said in a statement.
A number of Republicans in the Senate had been apprehensive about the transition team's initial unwillingness to face FBI background checks, and several praised the Tuesday agreement.
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"I think that’s good –– it’ll save them some headache," said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., according to Politico. "And it’ll give the public and senators a little comfort, 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 on the campaign trail 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 and has echoed Republican claims that Democrats have "weaponized" the FBI.
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"Kash did an incredible job during my First Term, where he served as Chief of Staff at the Department of Defense, Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council. Kash has also tried over 60 jury trials," Trump posted to Truth Social on Sunday.
"This FBI will end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the Border. Kash will work under our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to bring back Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity to the FBI," he added.
Patel’s name spread across news reports as he became known as the man behind the "Nunes Memo," a four-page document from then-Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., released in 2018 that revealed improper use of surveillance by the FBI and the Justice Department in the Russia investigation into Trump.
"If they had gotten it right in the first place, when Devin and I and so many others were actually putting out the truth, instead of serving as a disinformation machine for the left-wing agenda, there would be no reassessment," Patel told Fox News Digital of the memo last year. "They could not 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.