Scoop: Trump team sets red line on Hegseth's FBI background check
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Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing is becoming a test of will for Republicans on ensuring FBI files aren't distributed throughout the entire Senate.
Why it matters: The Trump transition team is demanding that the president-elect's nominees be treated the same way they insist Joe Biden's were.
- That means no FBI background check access for rank-and-file senators, according to two people familiar with the matter.
- Senate Armed Services chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and ranking member Jack Reed (D-R.I.) have been briefed on the report. Others have not.
- A member of the Trump transition sat in on the FBI background briefing on Hegseth's file, a source familiar told Axios. The senators weren't given a copy of the file. They also weren't allowed to take notes or pictures.
Zoom in: Wicker privately raised the idea of letting his full committee see Hegseth's file, but Trump officials are opposed to sharing it, according to a person familiar with the matter.
- The Trump team wants to hold the line on having a consistent standard for all nominees.
- Look for them to fight any effort to release Hegseth's file, even if Wicker says there's not much of interest.
Zoom out: Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Dems are huddling tonight on how to respond, as Axios scooped earlier on Monday.
- Democrats admit the precedent is on the GOP's side. But they say the nature of Hegseth's nomination — including allegations of sexual misconduct that he's denied — at least deserves a conversation.
- "We should all be able to see the report and draw our own conclusions about how incomplete it is and even in the modest amount it covers, how much damage it does to Mr. Hegseth," Armed Services committee member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told Axios.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with details on the background briefing.
