'Reject the political hacks': Columnist urges Senate to 'demand better choices' from Trump
Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard wouldn't stand a chance in Senate confirmation hearings if David Firestone had his way.
The deputy editor of The New York Times Editorial Board used Thursday's column to implore senators to "reject the political hacks" nominated by President-elect Donald Trump lest more attacks like the New Year's Eve mayhem in New Orleans and Las Vegas are allowed to multiply.
The FBI determined that 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who rammed his pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street, killing 14, and 37-year-old Matthew Alan Livelsberger, who shot himself before setting off an explosion in his rented Cybertruck outside a Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, were both U.S. citizens and military veterans who acted alone.
"...[T]he news on New Year’s Day serves as a reminder that lone-wolf terrorism, whether inspired by ISIS or some other extreme ideology, hasn’t gone away," Firestone wrote.
"Individuals acting alone are always the hardest perpetrators to detect, and if these attacks lead to a resurgence of domestic terrorism by copycats inspired by bloodshed, the country is going to want the best possible people working to track them down. That description does not include Kash Patel, Trump’s choice for F.B.I. director, and Tulsi Gabbard, his pick for director of national intelligence. Both appear to have been chosen not because of any background in fighting crime or terrorism, but because of the grudges they share with Trump and their fealty to him."
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Two other Trump nominees caused a stir for ethics concerns having to do with prostitution, drugs, and alcohol when Trump nominated them; former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) dropped out of contention for attorney general altogether after admitting he became a "distraction," but Pete Hegseth continues to soldier on for the defense secretary post.
On Thursday, Democrats announced that incoming senator Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) will be part of the Senate Judiciary Committee members probing Trump's nominees.
"Many of the nation’s best case officers and special agents would probably walk out the door rather than work for these kinds of leaders, making the nation even more vulnerable to attack," Firestone wrote of Trump's nominees. "To make the country safer, Senate Republicans should demand better choices."