President-elect Trump’s transition team has signed an agreement with the FBI to vet the incoming administration’s cabinet nominees, the transition team announced Tuesday. The agreement, typically signed even before the election, allows the FBI to conduct background checks and security clearances for the nominees.
This development comes as a number of Republicans in the Senate had been apprehensive about the transition team’s initial unwillingness to face FBI background checks. Senator Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., praised the agreement, saying it will “save them some headache” and give the public and senators a little comfort.
Despite the agreement, President-elect Trump and his allies have been openly critical of the FBI both on the campaign trail and since the election. Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, has been a crusader against the “deep state” since Trump’s first term and has echoed Republican claims that Democrats have “weaponized” the FBI.
Patel has a long history of voicing his opposition to the FBI, and his name spread across news reports as he became known as the man behind the “Nunes Memo,” a four-page document from then-Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., that revealed improper use of surveillance by the FBI and the Justice Department in the Russia investigation into Trump.
In a statement, incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said that the agreement with the Department of Justice will ensure President Trump and his team are ready on Day 1 to begin enacting the America First Agenda that an overwhelming majority of our nation supported on Election Day.
The agreement marks a departure from Trump’s past rhetoric, in which he has been critical of the FBI and its handling of various investigations. However, it is unclear what the full implications of the agreement will be for the FBI’s role in the new administration.
