GOP senators fight Trump on efforts to dodge FBI vetting for Cabinet nominees: report

After announcing a slew of nominees to serve in leadership roles under his second administration, Donald Trump plans to dodge the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) vetting process, according to a Wednesday Bloomberg report.

Per the report, the president-elect’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.”

Republican lawmakers, like Senators Susan Collins (ME) and Roger Wicker (MS) are calling on Trump to adhere to the process, which Bloomberg notes, has been in place “more than 60 years.”

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The report notes, "All it takes to force Trump’s hand are four Republican defections in a Senate expected to have a 53-47 GOP majority."

Legal analyst and ex-US attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, Barbara McQuade, told Bloomberg that “it’s a very detailed process.” Having experienced the vetting process herself, she emphasized, “I agreed that they may search my criminal background, I agreed that they may have access to my finances, I agreed that they may interview all my friends and family.”

Another GOP lawmaker, Senator Chuck Grassley (IA), says he doesn’t plan to allow the president-elect slide

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“I’m not going to make a decision on what information we need, but I’m saying to the people that want any cabinet person to get through, not just Gaetz, it’s going to be a lot faster if you give us all the information that we want,” he said.

Bloomberg's full report is available at this link.