Trump’s White House nominees ‘targeted with bomb threats’

A number of people Donald Trump has chosen for his cabinet and White House staff have been targeted with bomb threats and “swatting” incidents, according to the president-elect’s spokeswoman.

The targets have not been named by Trump’s team but were reported to include Pete Hegseth, his nominee for defence secretary, Elise Stefanik, his incoming ambassador to the UN, and John Ratcliffe, his choice to lead the CIA.

Lee Zeldin, Trump’s choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, said he was targeted by a “pro-Palestinian” pipe bomb threat, with police called to his New York home on Wednesday morning. “My family and I were not home at the time and are safe,” he said. “We are working with law enforcement to learn more as this situation develops.”

New York police said another threat was made against the Manhattan property of Howard Lutnick, the Wall Street financier and co-chair of Trump’s transition team who is also the president-elect’s nominee for commerce secretary.

A bomb squad is said to have been sent to the home of Matt Gaetz, Trump’s first choice for attorney-general. Gaetz, who resigned from Congress after his nomination, withdrew from consideration for the post last week. It was unclear if the threat was genuine.

Susie Wiles, Trump’s incoming chief of staff, and Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney-general chosen as Gaetz’s replacement were also targeted, AP reported, citing law enforcement officials.

It was not disclosed whether Trump himself was the target of any threats, news of which came on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday. Fox News reported that “nearly a dozen” figures named in Trump’s new cabinet were targeted.

Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump’s transition team, denounced the “violent, un-American threats to their lives and those who live with them”, but said in a statement that police had acted swiftly “to ensure the safety of those who were targeted”. She added: “President Trump and the entire transition team are grateful for their swift action.”

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Stefanik’s office said that she, her husband, and their three-year-old son were driving home from Washington to Saratoga county in New York state for Thanksgiving “when they were informed of a bomb threat to their residence”.

Leavitt said the attacks ranged from bomb threats to “swatting”, in which a hoax alert is reported to prompt a heavy armed police response to a person’s home.

The FBI said it was “aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees” and was working with “law enforcement partners”. The agency 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.”

Since his election victory on November 5, Trump has unveiled his choices for the most senior roles in cabinet and other high-ranking posts in his administration including Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Robert F Kennedy Jr as health and human services secretary and Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as joint heads of a new Department of Government Efficiency.

The threats to his incoming team follow a bitterly fought election campaign in which Trump himself survived two assassination attempts. A bullet struck his ear during a shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania in July that left one of his supporters dead and two more critically injured. The gunman was killed at the scene by the Secret Service.

A second alleged assassination attempt was foiled in September when agents spotted a man with a rifle next to a Florida golf course where Trump was playing.

Referring to his defiance after the attempts on his life, Leavitt said: “With President Trump as our example, dangerous acts of intimidation and violence will not deter us.”

The White House condemned the threats and said President Biden had been briefed and “continues to monitor the situation closely”, with the administration remaining in contact with the FBI and Trump’s team.