Sen.-elect Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said President-elect Donald Trump’s national security Cabinet picks might require more scrutiny following the terrorist attack in New Orleans.
Talking to reporters yesterday, Gallego was asked if Trump’s picks should be fast-tracked in the wake of the New Year’s Day terror attack. “I think in light of what you saw yesterday, we want to make sure that you have the right national security nominees,” he said. “Just putting someone in place doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re actually going to have the type of collaboration [and] intelligence sharing that you need.”
Gallego did not indicate how he plans to vote on Trump’s national security picks: Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence, Kash Patel for FBI director and Pete Hegseth for defense secretary.
Asked about Trump’s mass deportation plan, Gallego noted the specifics have yet to be unveiled, while adding that voters he spoke with on the campaign trail wanted guardrails on expelling migrants. “They want a certain type of illegal immigrants deported,” he said. “What I didn’t hear is, for family separations, and I didn’t hear about jailing kids or anything of that nature.”
Gallego, who is set to become Arizona’s first Latino senator, also reacted to Trump saying he would nominate Kari Lake to lead Voice Of America. “She’s got great experience in the media, I wish her well,” Gallego said of his Republican opponent in last year’s Senate race.
“I hope she has learned that misinformation is not appreciated by Americans,” he added in a jab against Lake, who for years denied that she lost her 2022 bid to become Arizona’s governor.
