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Trump transition team skips FBI background checks for cabinet picks: report
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Trump transition team skips FBI background checks for cabinet picks: report

President-elect Donald TrumpHis transition team will rely on private companies to conduct background checks and vet potential cabinet members in his administration, according to a new report from CNN.

A Trump team source cited the slow speed and rigor of the FBI’s standard checks for their departure from the typical process, saying Trump’s team was worried the delays could hamper Trump’s plans for his first days in office.

Background checks conducted by the FBI are a routine part of the nomination process, although they are not a formal legal requirement. FBI reviews are required to grant national security clearances, which would be necessary for controversial nominees such as Matt Gaetz and Tulsi Gabbard to carry out their duties. However, Trump’s expanded power as head of the executive branch could give him a way to avoid this formality. He could simply order that the named persons be given the appropriate authorizations.

Some national security experts say the move is consistent with Trump’s skepticism about the national security apparatus. D.C. security attorney Dan Meyer told CNN that Trump’s team has little interest in it RULES of the staff of his administration.

“(Trump’s transition team) doesn’t want the FBI to coordinate a rule; they want to set the norm,” Meyer said.

American Enterprise Institute foreign policy director Kori Schake called bypassing FBI vetting a “terrible idea” in an interview Thursday with PBS’s Margaret Hoover.

“It will create the perception of corruption and foreign influence in a way that will actually be bad for the Trump administration in addition to being bad for the country,” Schake said.

Also, the thoroughness of private background checks is uncertain. Details emerged Wednesday of sexual assault allegations against Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth that were apparently not present in the verification reports by the transition team.

“This alleged incident did not occur,” an unnamed leader of the transition team told Vanity Fair.

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