Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday that she did not believe Democrats delaying President-elect Donald Trump’s FBI director nominee, Kash Patel, would hurt operational security, as the agency is already “very functional.”
Following the terrorist attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, Senate Republicans have urged the confirmation of Patel and others in Trump’s administration who are involved in national security. On “State of the Union,” Tapper questioned the Democratic lawmaker about her response to the push, highlighting how she has already signaled opposition to Patel’s nomination.
“We have a very functional FBI right now that is investigating New Orleans, investigating Las Vegas, came out, told the public exactly what was going on,” Klobuchar said. “So I don’t believe that to be the case. I believe our job — we just took an oath, I just took an oath, Jake, to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and we have a duty to advise and consent [and] a number of our Republican colleagues in the Senate agree.”
“That’s why we must have an FBI check on Kash Patel and these other nominees for these very serious security positions. We must know what their background is. We must see their financial disclosure forms,” Klobuchar added.
Lawmakers and pundits have questioned the FBI’s guidance over the years, with the agency receiving major backlash following the first assassination attempt against Trump on July 13, 2024. However, just one day into the new year, the agency has already flip-flopped on multiple claims concerning the terrorist attack in New Orleans, which killed at least 14 people and injured dozens of others.
During a press conference a day after the incident, FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Aletha Duncan told reporters that the attack was “not a terrorist event.” However, less than five minutes after Duncan’s statement, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell addressed the press to confirm that the incident was a terrorist attack.
The agency also flip-flopped again on Thursday, releasing a statement that the identified suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, committed the act alone, despite previous reports of potential accomplices.
Klobuchar went on to state how Trump’s nominees could have potential issues, adding that Democrats need to stand their ground to keep Republicans accountable.
“The president-elect has put in a number of billionaires that could have all kinds of conflicts into these jobs,” Klobuchar continued. “We must be able to see that, but at the same time as we stand our ground and follow the oath of the Constitution we also find common ground where we can. On things like housing — they say they want to do something about child care, let’s go for it.”
“But if their plan is to simply move ahead and give tax cuts to a bunch of billionaires as we just heard rumors, that’s what was coming out of the Republican caucus that they want to immediately move to that,” Klobuchar said. “We’re gonna stand our ground and hold them accountable for what they said that they wanted to help average people in our country.”
In response to 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks attempting to assassinate Trump, lawmakers created a bipartisan task force to investigate the security lapses in both the FBI and Secret Service. During a congressional hearing regarding the first attack FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers the agency had “some questions” about Trump’s ear injury, as some in corporate media had also questioned whether the injury was from a “bullet or shrapnel.”
Trump faced a second assassination attempt while at the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach on Sept. 15, 2024, with officials arresting 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh. In December 2024, the bipartisan task force’s final report to lawmakers said President Joe Biden’s Department Of Justice (DOJ) and FBI provided “limited cooperation” to the House, adding how the FBI had pushed back and failed to provide digital analysis.
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