Trump Cabinet nominees targeted in attacks ranging from ‘bomb threats’ to ‘swatting’

Several of Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees and administration appointees “were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them” on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the president-elect’s transition team said Wednesday.

“These attacks ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting,’” Trump transition spokesperson and incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “In response, law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted.”

While Leavitt did not provide details about who was targeted, a handful of appointees and nominees made statements Wednesday addressing the threats.

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, Trump’s incoming ambassador to the United Nations, was “informed of a bomb threat” to her New York home, according to a statement from her office on Wednesday.

Scott Turner, who Trump tapped to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said in a statement on X that his “home was targeted by a bomb threat” on Wednesday and Trump’s pick for Labor secretary, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.), said on X that she received a “pipe bomb threat” on Tuesday night. Lee Zeldin, the president-elect’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, also said in a statement that he was the target of a “pipe bomb” threat with a “pro-Palestinian themed message.”

A relative of former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Trump’s initial pick for attorney general, also received a bomb threat, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. The office said it received notice of a “bomb threat referencing former Congressman Matt Gaetz’s supposed mailbox” on Wednesday morning.

 “A family member resides at the address but former Congressman Gaetz is NOT a resident, the sheriff’s office said in the statement. “The mailbox however was cleared and no devices were located. The immediate area was also searched with negative results.”

The FBI said in a statement on Wednesday that it “is aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees” and is working with “law enforcement partners.”

“We take all potential threats seriously, and as always, encourage members of the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement,” the FBI said.

The threats come months after the president-elect survived two alleged assassination attempts during his campaign. Leavitt said in the statement that “dangerous acts of intimidation and violence will not deter us.”