A number of President-elect Donald Trump 's most prominent Cabinet picks and appointees have been targeted by bomb threats and "swatting attacks," Trump's transition team said Wednesday, November 27. The FBI said it was investigating.
"Last night and this morning, several of President Trump's Cabinet nominees and Administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them," Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. She said the attacks ranged from bomb threats to swatting, in which attackers initiate an emergency law enforcement response against a target victim under false pretenses. The tactic has become a popular one in recent years.
Leavitt said law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted and Trump and his transition team are grateful. Among those targeted were New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump's pick to serve as the next ambassador to the United Nations; Matt Gaetz, Trump's initial pick to serve as attorney general; and former New York congressman Lee Zeldin, who has been tapped to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
Susie Wiles, Trump's incoming chief of staff, and Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general whom Trump has chosen as Gaetz's replacement, were also targeted, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity as the investigation continues. Wiles and Bondi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
FBI 'aware of numerous bomb threats'
The FBI said in a statement that it was "aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees" and was investigating with its law enforcement partners.
The FBI added: "We take all potential threats seriously, and as always, encourage members of the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement."
White House spokesperson Saloni Sharma said President Joe Biden had been briefed and the White House is in touch with federal law enforcement and Trump's transition team. Biden "continues to monitor the situation closely," Sharma said, adding the president and his administration "condemn threats of political violence."
Stefanik's office said that, on Wednesday morning, she, her husband, and their 3-year-old son were driving home from Washington for Thanksgiving when they were informed of a bomb threat to their residence in Saratoga County. Her office said "New York State, County law enforcement, and US Capitol Police responded immediately with the highest levels of professionalism."
The New York State Police said a team was dispatched to sweep Stefanik's home on Wednesday morning in response to the bomb threat but did not locate any explosive devices. The agency directed further questions to the FBI.
Zeldin said in a social media post that he and his family had been threatened. "A pipe bomb threat targeting me and my family at our home today was sent in with a pro-Palestinian themed message," he wrote on X . "My family and I were not home at the time and are safe. We are working with law enforcement to learn more as this situation develops."
Police in Suffolk County, Long Island, said emergency officers responded to a bomb threat Wednesday morning at an address listed in public records as Zeldin's home and were checking the property.
Minimizing 'risk of copy-cats'
In Florida, the Okaloosa County sheriff's office said on Facebook that it "received notification of a bomb threat referencing former Congressman Matt Gaetz's supposed mailbox at a home in the Niceville area" around 9 am on Wednesday.
While a family member resides at the address, the office said, Gaetz "is NOT a resident." No threatening devices were found. Gaetz was Trump's initial pick to serve as attorney general, but he withdrew from consideration after allegations that he paid women for sex and slept with underage women. Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and said last year that a Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls had ended with no federal charges against him.
The threats follow a political campaign marked by disturbing and unprecedented violence. In July, a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing the then-candidate in the ear with a bullet and killing one of his supporters. The Secret Service later thwarted a subsequent assassination attempt at Trump's West Palm Beach, Florida, golf course when an agent spotted the barrel of a gun poking through a perimeter fence while Trump was golfing.
The US Capitol Police said in a statement Wednesday that anytime a member of Congress is the victim of a swatting' incident, "we work closely with our local and federal law enforcement partners." The force declined to provide further details, in part to "minimize the risk of copy-cats."
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson called the threats "dangerous and unhinged."
"This year, there was not just one but TWO assassination attempts on President Trump," he wrote on X . "Now some of his Cabinet nominees and their families are facing bomb threats." He added: "It is not who we are in America."