Lawmakers are concerned about background checks of Trump's Cabinet picks as red flags surface (Amended)

WASHINGTON (AP) — As senators prepare to consider President-elect Donald Trump’s picks for his Cabinet, they may be doing so without a well-established staple of the confirmation process: an FBI background check.

The Trump transition team has so far not signed the requisite agreements with the White House or the Justice Department to allow the FBI to screen his personnel choices, both for the process of obtaining security clearances and meeting the Senate’s usual standards for nominations.

That means the Senate could be asked to vote on Trump’s picks without the usual rigorous background checking meant to uncover personal problems, criminal histories or other red flags that would raise questions about a nominee’s suitability for the job. There already are questions about problematic issues related to a number of the people Trump wants in his administration.

“There are very real liabilities on the security side if you don’t get this right,” said Dan Meyer, a Washington lawyer at the Tully Rinckey law firm who specializes in background checks, security clearances and federal employment law.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-fbi-gaetz-congress-background-vetting-cabinet-ac9afcd41d598a62ae34442ecf96a652

Reason enough to reject every pick right there.

Senators Set to Clash With Trump on FBI Checks for Gaetz, Others

(Bloomberg) -- President-elect Donald Trump is poised to skip over FBI vetting of his nominees, upending more than 60 years of precedent and putting him on a collision course with members of his own party as he tries to power controversial cabinet picks through the Senate.

Republican senators have balked at Trump potentially forgoing the routine FBI background checks to install former Representative Matt Gaetz as attorney general as well as other controversial nominees like Pete Hegseth to lead the Pentagon and Tulsi Gabbard, another former House member, to run national intelligence.

Trump’s transition team hasn’t signed an agreement with the Justice Department and FBI that would allow the bureau to vet nominees, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not be identified discussing internal deliberations. The agreement is typically an initial step to begin the process of vetting.

“We are prepared to deliver briefings to the transition team on our operations and responsibilities, and we stand ready to process requests for security clearances for those who will need access to national security information,” the department said in a statement Wednesday.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/senators-set-clash-trump-fbi-174344301.html