Summary
Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) dismissed the necessity of FBI background checks for Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees, claiming the public prioritizes implementing Trump’s policies over vetting appointees.
On ABC’s This Week, Hagerty criticized Biden officials and supported Trump’s expedited transition process, despite reports that many nominees, including Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard, have bypassed FBI checks.
Moderator Jonathan Karl expressed concern over abandoning standard vetting practices, but Hagerty argued the FBI is “weaponized” and insisted checks would be completed quickly, though no evidence supports his claims of agency bias.
Hot take here. Please listen to the interview if you want to debate it. I took the Senator as saying the background checks should be done expeditiously by the FBI. That was his long answer. I don’t think the “Certainly” quoted in the text of the article was a direct answer to the question of if he was saying they are not needed.