Sen. Elissa Slotkin, R-Michigan, expressed concern Sunday that some of President-elect Donald Trump’s national security cabinet picks may be driven by his own political preferences rather than an objective interpretation of intelligence.
Slotkin, a current U.S. representative and former CIA officer and Pentagon official, told Fox News’ “This Week” anchor Martha Raddatz that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to head national intelligence would have to tell Trump in detail. what they are seeing in the world, rather than what they think the incoming president “wants to hear.”
“I need to know that people in these jobs are not going to be driven by policy and think they should see what somebody tells them in intelligence or the defense picture, but what’s really the truth. The ground,” Slotkin said.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin appears on “This Week” on November 17, 2024.
ABC News
“Speaking truth to power is one of the most important things the intelligence community does, and if I have someone in there who feels more obligated to tell the president what he wants to hear, I have a real problem with that.”
Slotkin’s remarks come as Trump rushes to announce his Cabinet picks. Among the most controversial candidates are Hegseth, Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. They have been appointed to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and former Republican Representative Matt Gaetz to lead the Department of Justice.
Hegseth has expressed concern that women should not fill combat roles due to her past comments.
“I can tell you, because I was in the Pentagon on Thursday, and it’s kind of like a hallway, there’s constant chatter and conversations and concerns from senior female officers. But I’ve also heard from people who I’ve recommended to the service academy. Young women who are just starting their careers, saying, ‘Am I really going to make it here? what I want to achieve?'” Slotkin said.
Trump’s choice for defense secretary has repeatedly criticized the Pentagon’s “woke” policies, and has advocated firing senior members of the armed forces who support the department’s diversity efforts.
“I think they’ve been very clear that they’re putting together some kind of panel that’s going to look at the generals, they’re people who have served their nation, they’ve spent their whole lives in different administrations, they’ve been fighting Democrat and Republican. Now he’s openly talking about dismissing them as a kangaroo court. The stress on the Pentagon, but also on our future as a military,” Slotkin said.
Slotkin had a more positive note about Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick to lead the State Department and has a traditional background as an advocate of muscular US engagement in the world.
“We’re not perfect, but man, I’d rather have American leadership any day of the week than Chinese or Russian leadership. And so I hope that despite the push from President-elect Trump, it’s Marco Rubio. A traditional choice that will understand that role of the United States is important. as,” he said.
However, Slotkin declined to predict how he would vote for Cabinet nominees, despite his concerns about people like Hegseth and Gabbard.
“Generally speaking, I’m an elected senator, and the advice and consent of the Senate is part of our constitutional process. So I’m going to try to meet with everybody, listen. But I’m also a former CIA officer and Department of Defense official and I know how important these jobs are, not just in Washington what for those who get it, but for the real safety of the people of the United States,” he said.
