Republican sources in the Capitol Hill warned that the confirmation of President-elect Trump’s national security team may be delayed due to paperwork delays and a slow start for FBI background checks.

Senate Republican leaders asked colleagues to quickly confirm Trump’s National Security Team in response to the suspected terror attack that occurred in New Orleans, New Year’s Day. But these pleas for quick action run up against procedural thickets, as even routine business in the Senate can take weeks or days to complete.

The date for Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing was announced on Thursday night, Jan. 14, Trump’s nominee as the head of the Defense Department.

At the moment, other nominees are still in limbo, including Tulsi Gabard who was nominated as director of national Intelligence, and Kash Patel who is nominated as FBI director.

Senate Republican strategists and aides believe Gabbard’s appointment to lead the nation’s spy agencies will face a difficult road in the upper chamber.

Patel’s nomination will be delayed until the Senate Judiciary Committee has processed Pam Bondi’s nomination as head of the Justice Department.

A Senate GOP aide stated that it was difficult to get background checks completed and the Office of Government Ethics form 278 filled out for nominees. This has slowed down things for several committees.

The aide claimed that the Trump transition team was slow to sign memorandums with the Justice Department, which would have allowed FBI background checks, and their reluctance in signing an agreement with General Services Administration, to gain access government office spaces, email accounts and phones, and computers.

The source stated that “you have to complete the FBI background check and ethics paperwork, and it’s taking longer than you should.” “They should have known better. It has a great deal to do with how the transition team is set up to work. Some of the delays are due to it. “These are self-inflicted delay.”

An aide to a Senate Democratic senator confirmed that FBI background checks for important national security nominees had been delayed since shortly before Christmas.

However, a senior Republican strategist who is part of the transition team defended Trump’s high profile nominees. He pointed out that the FBI was currently conducting background checks on them and they were working with the Office of Government Ethics as well as departmental ethics officers in order to resolve any potential conflicts of interests.

The strategist argued that the FBI’s late start of background checks would not be a major obstacle for Trump’s nominees to move through the Senate. Instead, the duration of these investigations will have a greater impact on the timeliness of confirmation.

A spokesperson from the transition team failed to respond to an inquiry for comment on Thursday afternoon.

Many Republican senators including Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a senior member on the Senate Intelligence Committee say that they want the FBI conduct thorough and complete background checks for high-level nominations, especially those occupying key positions in national security, before the committee or the floor votes.

The pressure on John Thune, the majority leader of the Senate (R-S.D. ), is increasing. After a recent high-profile attack on revelers at New Orleans’ historic French Quarter, there is increasing pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.).

Second, a Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel of Las Vegas shook the nation on New Year’s Day.

Thune called the New Orleans rampage, which left 14 dead, a “senseless terrorist attack” and demanded “clear answers” from the government.

He said: “The threat of ISIS will outlast the current administration. This is a clear reason why the Senate should get President Trump’s National Security Team in place as soon as possible.”

John Barrasso, Senate Republican Whip (R-Wyo. ) This call was echoed by Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.)

The U.S. Senate should confirm the national security team of President Trump as soon as possible. “Lives depend on this,” he wrote on social media platform X.

The second Republican strategist, who is helping Trump’s nominees to move through the Senate, said Trump advisors are concerned about how the FBI and Office of Government Ethics will treat Trump’s nominees as long as they are under the influence of Biden White House.

“From the Trump point of view, there is concern over what OGE will do under a Biden Administration, until they are in charge. This was the biggest problem with FBI background checks. The source stated that they were skeptical about the FBI, with this director in charge of vetting Trump nominees.

The strategist warned that Gabbard – a former Democratic legislator from Hawaii, who sponsored legislation repealing the Patriot Act and Section 702 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act – faces strong skepticism both from Republican and Democratic Senators.

The strategist suggested that if Republicans tried to stop Gabbard from being nominated, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky could be the one leading the charge.

The source stated, “I don’t think Republicans are concerned as much about Kash.” There will be a lot of press to act against [the Department of Justice], [director of National Intelligence], and the CIA.

John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman and Trump’s nominee for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is expected pass through the Senate with little opposition. He served as director for national intelligence between May 2020 and January 2021.

Much will depend on Gabbard’s performance in her one-on-1 meeting with Mark Warner (Va.), ranking Democrat of the Senate Intelligence Committee. This meeting is set to take place on Monday.

The strategist stated that Trump’s transition team, as well as the Senate committees, do not seem to be in any hurry to move Trump’s domestic nominees due to the increased focus on Homeland Security and National Security by lawmakers.

There does not appear to be a rush at HELP or Finance in regard to the nominations for domestic positions. The strategist stated that the national security nominees were the top priority. He was referring to both the Finance Committee and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

The Senate Finance Committee still hasn’t announced the dates for its confirmation hearings of Trump’s nominees to lead the Treasury and Health and Human Services Departments and serve as U.S. Trade Representative.

The president-elect appointed Scott Bessent as the head of his hedge fund, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a public health advocate and Jamieson Greer as a trade lawyer to lead these agencies.

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