F.B.I. Briefs Top Senators on Armed Services Panel About Hegseth
The New York Times
The committee’s Republican chairman and its top Democrat were briefed on F.B.I. findings into Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s defense secretary pick. Democrats questioned whether there were gaps.
F.B.I. officials briefed the top members of the Senate Armed Services Committee late Friday afternoon on the findings from their background check of Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick to serve as defense secretary, according to two people aware of the briefings.
Senator Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi and the chairman of the armed services panel, and Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, its top Democrat, each huddled separately with F.B.I. officials on Friday for over an hour, according to a person familiar with the briefings, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive proceedings.
It is traditional for the F.B.I. to brief only the chair and ranking member of panels on the findings from a background check of Cabinet nominees. During the sessions, the senators were able to review the findings and ask questions about them, but were not given copies of a report to share with their colleagues.
Since the results of the F.B.I.’s probe have not been shown to other members of the committee, several Democrats on the panel expressed concerns that they might not have relevant information for Mr. Hegseth’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
With only days to go before Mr. Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, it appears increasingly unlikely that other senators on the panel will be shown that information before querying him about his fitness to run the Pentagon.
Rank-and-file Democrats have been up in arms about the lack of access, saying it is necessary for them to review the F.B.I.’s findings.
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