Trump Cabinet Members Are the Target of Bomb Threats

Trump’s Cabinet choices and White House picks have been getting bomb threats and fake calls this week.

Several of Donald Trump’s picks for the White House and cabinet have been the target of bomb threats.

The FBI said it knew about “swatting incidents” and “numerous bomb threats.” Swatting is when someone makes a fake call to the police to get them to come to their house.

Someone made a threat against at least nine of Trump’s picks to lead the Defense, Housing, Agriculture, and Labor Departments, as well as his choice for US representative to the UN.

The events took place on Tuesday night and Wednesday, and the police are looking into them.

Speaking for Trump’s transition team, Karoline Leavitt said that the people he chose to be in charge “were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and the lives of those who live with them.”

“Law enforcement acted quickly to make sure the nominees’ safety,” she said.

“Because we look up to President Trump, violent and dangerous acts of intimidation will not stop us,” she said.

No names were given to any of the candidates by Leavitt or the FBI.

Trump chose Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York, to be the US ambassador to the UN. She was the first person to say that a bomb threat had been made against her family home.

Her office said that the representative learned about the threat while she was on the way to New York for Thanksgiving with her husband and three-year-old son from Washington, DC.

Later, Pete Hegseth, who was nominated to be defense secretary, said that he too had been targeted.

On X, he said that a police officer had come to his house on Wednesday morning while his seven children were sleeping there to tell him that they had gotten “a credible pipe bomb threat.”

“No one can pick on me or scare me.” “Never,” he wrote. “President Trump asked me to serve, and I plan to do so.”

Law enforcement sources told US media that Trump, who survived two attempts on his life during his campaign, was not one of the people who got the fake calls.

Arizona police arrested a guy earlier this week for posting videos “nearly daily” in which he threatened to kill Trump and his family. This means that he has been getting real threats.

Reports in the media say that the US Secret Service did not protect any of the people who were targeted this week.

Trump has nominated Lee Zeldin to be the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Zeldin also admitted that he was targeted and said that a “pro-Palestinian themed” “pipe bomb threat” was sent to his house.

He said, “My family and I were not home at the time and are safe.” “We appreciate how quickly the police in our area acted.”

Law enforcement sources told US media that Trump, who survived two attempts on his life during his campaign, was not one of the people who got the fake calls.

Arizona police arrested a guy earlier this week for posting videos “nearly daily” in which he threatened to kill Trump and his family. This means that he has been getting real threats.

Reports in the media say that the US Secret Service did not protect any of the people who were targeted this week.

Trump has nominated Lee Zeldin to be the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Zeldin also admitted that he was targeted and said that a “pro-Palestinian themed” “pipe bomb threat” was sent to his house.

He said, “My family and I were not home at the time and are safe.” “We appreciate how quickly the police in our area acted.”

Trump chose Brooke Rollins to lead the Department of Agriculture. On X, she thanked the cops in Fort Worth, Texas, for their “swift efforts” to look into a threat to her family on Wednesday morning.

“We were safe and got back home quickly,” she wrote.

Trump also chose Scott Turner for the Department of Housing and Lori Chavez-Deremer for the position of Labor Secretary. Both of them said on social media that they had been hacked. Each of them promised that the threats would not stop them.

One of the events was told to Vice President Joe Biden, the White House said in a statement.

“The White House is in touch with federal police and the team of the next president, and they are continuing to keep a close eye on the situation.”

The US Capitol Police, which is in charge of protecting Congress, said in a statement that they were working with other federal police agencies to stop any “swatting.” They wouldn’t say more, though, “to minimize the risk of copy-cats.”

Also targeted was Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida who had just dropped out of the race to become US attorney general.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office stated that a bomb threat was made against a home in the town of Niceville.

Police said that the home’s mailbox was empty and that no devices were found. They also searched the area but didn’t find anything.

New York cops said that Howard Lutnick, Trump’s choice for commerce secretary, had his home in New York threatened as well.

CBS reports that Pam Bondi, who was chosen to replace Gaetz as Trump’s choice, and Susie Wiles, who will be the new chief of staff to the White House, were also targeted.

Fox News says that Trump’s choice for head of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, also got threats.

Recently, similar fake methods have been used against other well-known politicians, such as the judges and lawyers who oversaw Trump’s criminal cases.

Around the country, lawmakers in the US got hit over Christmas last year. A lot of them were Republicans, but some Democrats were also hit.