New York State Rep. Dan Goldman (D) warned that some of President-elect Trump’s cabinet and senior staff members would be used to “weaponize” the government, specifically mentioning his appointment as FBI director, Kash Patel.
“Kash Patel is dangerous because she’s unqualified and she’s seeking revenge on Donald Trump’s behalf,” Goldman told CNN’s Brianna Keaylor on Monday. “And he is not the person who should be leading a nonpartisan, apolitical FBI with a 10-year term because he is not aligned with the political process.”
The comments come as President Trump faces scrutiny over several of his candidates.
Patel, a staunch Trump ally, echoed the former president’s plans for revenge. He focused much of his commentary on attacking the “deep state,” which he has accused of “weaponizing government for its own political and personal agenda.” He has also defended the president-elect during several investigations, including the impeachment inquiry and the Russian election interference probe he endured while in the White House, as well as after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
He faced pushback from a now-disbanded House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot, which asked him to sit down to testify. Patel, who held numerous national security positions in Trump’s first administration, was then acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller’s chief of staff.
Asked in a CNN interview whether Americans should trust federal law enforcement, Goldman pushed back against Trump’s controversial nominee.
“I think the problem is the candidates that Donald Trump has put forward. New York Democrats said: Matt Gaetz, Pam Bondi, Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard. “These are not people who want to enforce the rule of law. “They were co-opted to weaponize the federal government against Donald Trump’s enemies and his enemies.”
He added, “That’s a danger to the rule of law,” referring to President Biden’s recent pardon of his son Hunter Biden. “And this is why Joe Biden used his authority to protect his son from weaponization.”
Among the controversial candidates was Trump’s original choice for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who withdrew from consideration amid backlash over the Justice Department investigation and the House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations of sex trafficking and misconduct. Illegal drug use. President Trump later appointed former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, a staunch ally, to head the Justice Department for a second term.
President Trump, who recently nominated former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who joined the Republican Party, as Director of National Intelligence, is also expected to face an uphill battle for Senate confirmation.
Republicans who took control of both the House and Senate last month, especially those with more hard-line views on foreign policy, voted against Gabbard, given her history of comments seen as sympathetic to Russia during the war with Ukraine. You may be bored with it.
