(CNN) – President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is bypassing traditional FBI background checks for at least some of its Cabinet picks while using private companies to vet potential administration candidates, people close to transition planning say.

Trump and his allies believe the FBI system is slow and riddled with problems that could hinder the president-elect’s plan to quickly begin work on implementing his agenda, people briefed on the plans said. Critics say intrusive background checks sometimes become embarrassing information used to cause political damage.

The talks come as Trump has floated several controversial picks for top US government positions — including Matt Gaetz for attorney general and Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence.

Ultimately, the president has final authority over who he nominates and decides to share information, regardless of the protocol established in the wake of World War II to ensure that those selections do not have unknown foreign ties or other issues that would could raise national security concerns.

But bypassing background checks would mean bucking a longstanding rule in Washington. It also reflects Trump’s deep distrust of the national security establishment, which he derides as the Deep State. Sources say he has privately questioned the need for law enforcement background checks.

Dan Meyer, a national security attorney in Washington, DC, said the incoming Trump administration “doesn’t want harmony.” They “don’t want the FBI to coordinate a rule; they want to hammer the norm,” he said.

Some of Trump’s advisers began circulating a memo before the election urging him to bypass the traditional background check process for some of his appointees, a source with knowledge of the memo told CNN. Instead of using law enforcement, the memo proposed hiring private investigators who could move faster to conduct background checks.

The president-elect could always ultimately decide to send names to the FBI.

Some of Trump’s picks for roles in his administration could run into problems during background checks, posing possible hurdles during the confirmation process.

Gaetz has been mired in Justice Department and House ethics investigations related to sex-trafficking for years. The Justice Department declined to charge Gaetz, and the House ethics investigation, days from completion, was effectively closed when the Florida congressman resigned this week. Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Gabbard, meanwhile, has often appeared to take positions more favorable to foreign leaders widely considered not just America’s adversaries but, in some cases, brutal dictators, including the presidents of Syria and Russia, raising questions from allies and critics alike.

Gabbard in particular met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria in 2017 and said in 2019 that he was “not an enemy of the United States.”

In early 2022, she echoed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arguments for the country’s invasion of Ukraine, blaming not Moscow but the Biden administration’s failure to recognize Russia’s “legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraine’s accession to NATO ” – a popular strain thought in some right-wing circles.

In addition to the confirmation process, FBI background checks are used to screen candidates for a security clearance, which an attorney general nominee must have to do the job.

As president, Trump could bypass the process and order Gaetz to be granted a security clearance, as he did in his first term to grant a clearance to his son-in-law. Jared Kushner after approval languished amid questions about potential conflicts of interest.

Trump has ordered clearances for about 25 people whose applications were initially denied over possible national security concerns, CNN previously reported.

If Gaetz doesn’t participate in the vetting process, the FBI could still try to do a background investigation at the Senate’s request. But a source familiar with the process noted that it is difficult to collect certain data without his consent.

US officials are still waiting for Trump’s transition team to submit a list of names, including those being considered for Cabinet-level positions, to be formally vetted for security clearances, the source said.

Trump’s team has so far resisted participating in the formal transition process, which includes the signing of memorandums of understanding and nondisclosure agreements typically considered a prerequisite for accessing classified material before the new administration takes office.

Instead, Trump’s transition team focused on conducting its own internal vetting of candidates for top administration jobs.

The delay in vetting clearance applicants is also affecting the timing of classified briefings for administration officials, according to the source familiar with the process.

While Trump will have the authority to bypass any vetting issues and grant access to sensitive materials once he takes office, he will not be able to do so until he is sworn in on January 20. So if Trump’s team continues to bypass the vetting process. , those shortlisted for key roles could not receive briefings until then.

The Trump team’s lack of urgency when it comes to pre-certifying people for national security roles is not surprising and is consistent with how it handled the transition process after the 2016 election, the source said. Trump’s team was “poorly prepared” for the takeover in 2017, so the current lack of interest in participating in the vetting process is “perhaps a tie,” the source added.

Sending people who have current access to classified material or who have been previously vetted could help move the process along, while those without US government experience will take some time. Trump’s selection of Representative Mike Waltz as national security adviser is one such example.

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