Several Trump picks targeted with bomb threats and ‘swatting’, president-elect’s campaign says
In a statement, Trump transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt wrote that “several” of Trump’s cabinet appointments had been targeted with bomb threats and swatting.
“In response, law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted,” wrote Leavitt.
Key events
In case you missed it, Donald Trump’s transition team is planning for appointees to receive immediate security clearances, bypassing FBI background checks when Trump takes office, per a Guardian exclusive.
Hugo Lowell reports:
Donald Trump’s transition team is planning for all political appointees to receive sweeping security clearances on the first day and only face FBI background checks after the incoming administration takes over the bureau and its own officials are installed in key positions, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move appears to mean that Trump’s team will continue to skirt FBI vetting and may not receive classified briefings until Trump is sworn in on 20 January and unilaterally grant sweeping security clearances across the administration.
Trump’s team has regarded the FBI background check process with contempt for months, a product of their deep distrust of the bureau ever since officials turned over transition records to the Russia investigation during the first Trump presidency, the people said.
Federal employees fear doxxing and retaliation after Elon Musk posted on social media the names and titles of multiple people who hold climate-related positions but who are not public figures, CNN has reported. Musk, who will co-lead an unofficial government body seeking to reduce spending – the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) – with Vivek Ramaswamy, posted the names of the employees on X, prompting at least one of them to delete her accounts in fear of retaliation by Musk’s followers.
In a post, Hadas Gold, the author of the CNN story noted that she “was stunned when multiple experts in this field declined to speak to me on the record for fear of themselves becoming a target of Elon Musk.”
Also in Trump transition news: last night Trump announced he had nominated John Phelan, an investor and GOP megadonor who contributed to the Trump 2024 campaign, to be secretary of the Navy.
“John will be a tremendous force for our Naval Servicemembers, and a steadfast leader in advancing my America First vision,” Trump wrote in a statement. “He will put the business of the U.S. Navy above all else.”
Phelan has not served in the military. His nomination follows Trump’s decision to pick Pete Hegseth, a Fox News personality and rightwing ideologue who was investigated by police for an alleged sexual assault, to serve as the secretary of defense.
Three Americans released in US-China prisoner swap
The US has negotiated the release of three Americans from Chinese custody in a prisoner swap. It’s a diplomatic win for the Biden administration, which has brought home more than 70 formerly imprisoned Americans abroad in the last four years, according to Politico, which first reported the exchange.
The Americans, Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung, will be transferred to a medical facility for health screening.
The negotiations follow the high-profile release of numerous Americans from Russian custody, including the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Trump also named several high level health officials to serve in his next cabinet.
Jim O’Neill was nominated to serve as Health and Human Services (HHS) deputy under Robert F Kennedy Jr, who was picked to lead the department. O’Neill previously served in the HHS department under George W Bush, before working in Silicon valley, where he invested in several business ventures with PayPal chief executive Peter Thiel.
“[O’Neill] will oversee all operations and improve Management, Transparency, and Accountability to, Make America Healthy Again,” said Trump in a statement. ‘
Jay Bhattacharya, a physician and Stanford professor, was picked to lead the National Institutes of Health. Bhattacharya is a major critic of the US government’s response to Covid-19, including lockdowns during the virus’s peak. He later published a paper in October 2020 arguing that those who are less vulnerable to the virus should resume normal life.
Trump has continued to build out his cabinet as concerns about his transition intensify.
Late Tuesday, Trump tapped Jamieson Greer, a lawyer who worked under Trump’s previous trade representative Robert Lighthizer, to serve as the next trade representative.
If confirmed, Greer would oversee the trade deficit and work to expand “export markets everywhere”, Trump said in a statement. Greer would likely oversee the implementation of Trump’s plans to levy tariffs on Mexica, China and Canada.
On Greer, Trump said: “Jamieson played a key role during my First Term in imposing Tariffs on China and others to combat unfair Trade practices, and replacing the failed NAFTA deal with USMCA, therefore making it much better for American Workers.”
The MOU was supposed to be signed weeks ago, before the election. Trump has already indicated he will sidestep standard transition processes, including, The Guardian has reported, by issuing security clearances to appointees without requiring FBI background checks.
In refusing to sign a transition agreement with the DOJ regarding FBI background checks, the incoming Trump administration stands to forgo access to classified information from Biden administration officials. Lawmakers have already raised concerns about key Trump appointees avoiding the standard security clearance process – which will likely arise during senate confirmation hearings early next year.
Concerns raised over possible ‘corruption’ in Trump transition process
Good morning, US politics blog readers. US senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, blasted an agreement announced between Donald Trump’s transition team and the Joe Biden White House last night as failing “to answer key questions about national security threats and FBI vetting of nominees”, thereby increasing “concerns about corruption”.
We’ll have more details and also cover all the other politics news today, as it happens. Here’s what’s afoot:
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The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the incoming Trump and outgoing Biden administrations outlining some terms of the transfer of power departs from the norm in a few key ways, which is raising eyebrows on Washington.
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The Trump team said the transition will be privately funded and will not utilize “government buildings or technology […] and will operate as a self-sufficient organization.”
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Susie Wiles, Trump’s incoming chief of staff said the transition team “has an existing ethics plan”, which she said would be uploaded to the General Services Administration website.
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Warren called Trump’s use of private funds “nothing more than a ploy for well-connected Trump insiders to line their pockets while pretending to save taxpayers money.” She expressed “concerns of corruption”.
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There is a fresh flurry of Trump appointments. Among those announced last night were John Phelan, an investor and Trump campaign donor, as his pick for secretary of the Navy, and Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University health researcher who opposed Covid-19 lockdowns, to head the National Institutes of Health.