President-elect Donald Trump has long warned that the Biden administration was not fortifying the country against Islamist terrorism on U.S. soil, and his supporters say New Year’s Day attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas hammered home the point.
Mr. Trump and his allies blamed the massacre of 14 pedestrians by an ISIS-inspired terrorist on President Biden’s open border policies and weak leadership. They faulted the Biden administration’s focus on investigating White nationalism, religious organizations and activist parents who complain at school board meetings.
“Our Country is a disaster, a laughing stock all over the World! This is what happens when you have OPEN BORDERS, with weak, ineffective, and virtually nonexistent leadership,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social.
Critics say the administration prioritized diversity, equity and inclusion policies instead of monitoring for the kind of Islamist radicalization that motivated Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Army veteran, to plow through a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street early Wednesday.
“The FBI should be focused on fighting criminals and terrorists. Instead, the agency has wasted valuable resources hosting DEI seminars, investigating churchgoers and raiding President Trump’s home,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Republican.
Security experts said Mr. Trump will quickly turn the government’s attention toward preventing further Islamist terrorist attacks.
“There’s going to be a reprioritization of the threat picture under President Trump, and rightly so,” Michael Allen, who served as staff director for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and as a liaison to the National Security Council.
Top Senate lawmakers have called for the swift confirmation of Mr. Trump’s critical national security Cabinet appointees, including Kash Patel as FBI director, Pete Hegseth as defense secretary and Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary.
The Republican-led Senate convenes Friday and is expected to begin confirmation hearings immediately.
“The U.S. Senate must confirm President Trump’s national security team as soon as possible. Lives depend on it,” said incoming Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, Wyoming Republican.
Mr. Trump plans to take executive action on his first day in office, Jan. 20, to secure the U.S. border. His allies say that will help stanch the flow of unvetted illegal immigrants.
“This country is in grave danger,” Tom Homan, whom Mr. Trump appointed as border czar, said Thursday on Fox News. “We need to secure that border. And despite what’s happened the last two days in Las Vegas and in New Orleans, this administration is not stopping. They’re still releasing thousands of people every week … and Border Patrol continues to release people in this country without proper vetting.”
Over the summer, the Department of Homeland Security was on the hunt for dozens of illegal immigrants smuggled into the U.S. by an ISIS-related group. In 2022, the Border Patrol picked up 172 illegal immigrants on the terrorist watch list.
An FBI official said the bureau found no immediate connection between Jabbar, an American who was killed by police, and Matthew Livelsberger, an Army Green Beret who blew up a Tesla Cybertruck in front of Mr. Trump’s Las Vegas hotel using camping fuel and fireworks.
The two men served at the same Army base and used the same car rental app to obtain the electric trucks they used to carry out their attacks.
Livelsberger shot himself inside the truck before the vehicle detonated. His motive was not immediately known.
Jabbar had posted several videos pledging allegiance to ISIS since the summer, FBI officials said. The bureau now thinks he acted alone.
“This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act,” said Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division.
Stephen Miller, Mr. Trump’s incoming deputy White House chief of staff, blamed Jabbar’s radicalization on the influx of migrants enabled by the Biden administration.
“Islamist terrorism is an import. It is not ‘homegrown.’ It did not exist here before migration brought it here,” Mr. Miller posted on X.
The administration put unprecedented focus on threats from so-called White nationalists and on monitoring parents who spoke out at school board meetings about woke curricula and COVID-19 closures.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin prioritized ridding the military of right-wing extremism, and the administration implemented diversity, equity and inclusion goals that critics say diverted attention from the threat of Islamist terrorists.
Mr. Allen said such threats could increase inside the U.S. He said al Qaeda and ISIS have been hobbled enough overseas to prevent them from carrying out major attacks.
“So the threats have migrated to the United States, among people who are ISIS-inspired, rather than ISIS-directed. And they are using everyday attack vectors, like vehicles and gasoline, or fireworks,” Mr. Allen said. “They are taking the most commonplace things and weaponizing it.”
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.