John,

I wanted to reach out over the holiday weekend to let you know that I just published a bipartisan op-ed in the New York Times, along with one of my former colleagues on the Senate Judiciary committee, about an incredibly pressing issue in the leadup to the new Trump administration:

Donald Trump and the Republican-led Senate have indicated that they may skip the FBI background check process for Trump cabinet nominees.

This would be extremely dangerous and could leave lawmakers and the public in the dark about issues that may compromise the incoming administration officials' ability to do their jobs or even their loyalty to the United States.

The Senate must not allow these nominees to be confirmed without scrutiny.

This is not about partisanship, it is about ensuring that the leaders of our country are trustworthy and fit for office.

That’s why I published this op-ed alongside Gregg Nunziata, who was a counsel for Republicans on the Judiciary committee from 2005 to 2008, at the same time that I was counsel for Democrats on the committee.

Here’s an excerpt from our op-ed, which you can read in full in the New York Times:

“At a time when there are fewer and fewer meaningful checks on presidential power, the need for rigorous Senate consideration of nominees is all the more important. Without it, the president and his appointees could run roughshod over the government and over Americans’ lives with no one challenging them.

To prevent this, the Senate, across party lines, must make clear that, as has been the case for years, it will not consider nominations without an F.B.I. background check.

And with Senate consideration of nominees one of the few restraints on presidential power likely to be meaningful in 2025, the Senate and House should be clear that they will not be a party to a presidential plan to do an end run around the confirmation process with mass recess appointments. Mr. Trump urged just such an approach in a Nov. 10 post on Truth Social, before Senate Republicans chose their new leaders, writing, “Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments.”

The two of us worked together in politically contentious times during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, under Democratic and Republican chairmen. The Judiciary Committee’s confirmation process had a reputation for being brutal. But disagreements about nominations never extended to the background investigation. No nominee would have moved forward to a committee hearing or vote without a meaningful review. President-elect Trump’s nominees should be treated no differently.”

Thank you for your support,

Noah Bookbinder
President
CREW