Transition team OKs vetting
Agreement allows Justice Department to check Trump picks
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team said Tuesday they had signed an agreement with the Justice Department that would allow the agency to start vetting potential picks for the incoming administration.
The agreement allows the transition team to submit names for background checks and security clearances, a significant step in the process as Trump assembles his second-term team and prepares to retake power in January.
“Ultimately, this will afford the transition process additional insights, and it facilitates our agency landing teams gaining access to the information they need to prepare for leadership of the federal agencies and departments,” the transition team said in a statement.
Trump’s team in recent days has stepped up their coordination with President Joe Biden’s administration to facilitate the transfer of power, including signing an agreement last week that would start the formal process of bringing the president-elect’s nominees into federal agencies.
Still, Trump is eschewing some of the standard procedures of a transition, with his team saying they will not use government facilities or email accounts and will instead raise private funds.
Trump named billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to Britain, a prestigious posting for the Republican donor, whose contributions this year included $2 million to a Trump-backing super PAC.
The Senate is required to confirm the choice.
Chad Chronister, Trump’s pick to run the Drug Enforcement Administration, said Tuesday he was withdrawing his name from consideration, becoming the second person selected by the president-elect to bow out quickly after being nominated for a position requiring Senate confirmation.
Sheriff Chronister, the top law enforcement officer in Hillsborough County, Florida, said in a post on X that he was backing away from the opportunity, which he called “the honor of a lifetime.”
“Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully withdraw from consideration,” Chronister wrote.
Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, said that the DOJ agreement would “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.”
Meanwhile, a cluster of large drones spotted flying over central New Jersey — including near a military base and Trump’s Bedminster golf course — has sparked a federal investigation as well as new flight restrictions for the region.
The collection of “what look to be drones and a possible fixed wing aircraft” have been spotted around the Raritan River, “dating back several weeks,” FBI spokeswoman Amy J.
Thoreson told Patch.
According to officials, they appear to be larger than drones typically used by hobbyists, sparking concern given their proximity to Trump’s National Golf Club in Bedminster and the Picatinny Arsenal Military Base in Rockaway.
Local police have said there is no known threat to public safety.
The agreement allows the transition team to submit names for background checks and security clearances, a significant step in the process as Trump assembles his second-term team and prepares to retake power in January.
“Ultimately, this will afford the transition process additional insights, and it facilitates our agency landing teams gaining access to the information they need to prepare for leadership of the federal agencies and departments,” the transition team said in a statement.
Trump’s team in recent days has stepped up their coordination with President Joe Biden’s administration to facilitate the transfer of power, including signing an agreement last week that would start the formal process of bringing the president-elect’s nominees into federal agencies.
Still, Trump is eschewing some of the standard procedures of a transition, with his team saying they will not use government facilities or email accounts and will instead raise private funds.
Trump named billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to Britain, a prestigious posting for the Republican donor, whose contributions this year included $2 million to a Trump-backing super PAC.
The Senate is required to confirm the choice.
Chad Chronister, Trump’s pick to run the Drug Enforcement Administration, said Tuesday he was withdrawing his name from consideration, becoming the second person selected by the president-elect to bow out quickly after being nominated for a position requiring Senate confirmation.
Sheriff Chronister, the top law enforcement officer in Hillsborough County, Florida, said in a post on X that he was backing away from the opportunity, which he called “the honor of a lifetime.”
“Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully withdraw from consideration,” Chronister wrote.
Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, said that the DOJ agreement would “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.”
Meanwhile, a cluster of large drones spotted flying over central New Jersey — including near a military base and Trump’s Bedminster golf course — has sparked a federal investigation as well as new flight restrictions for the region.
The collection of “what look to be drones and a possible fixed wing aircraft” have been spotted around the Raritan River, “dating back several weeks,” FBI spokeswoman Amy J.
Thoreson told Patch.
According to officials, they appear to be larger than drones typically used by hobbyists, sparking concern given their proximity to Trump’s National Golf Club in Bedminster and the Picatinny Arsenal Military Base in Rockaway.
Local police have said there is no known threat to public safety.