Kerry Picket
Articles by Kerry Picket
Sen. Chuck Grassley says Christopher Wray ‘has failed’ as FBI director
Sen. Charles E. Grassley said Sunday that FBI Director Christopher A. Wray has failed at doing his job at the agency. The Iowa Republican said Mr. Wray has shown "disdain" for congressional "oversight and hasn't lived up to his promises." Published December 1, 2024
Former FBI agents go to bat for Kash Patel to be the bureau’s next director
Former FBI agents say they want President-elect Donald Trump to appoint Kash Patel, a former senior national security official, to be FBI Director. Published November 25, 2024
Trump senior adviser Dan Scavino fuels speculation about a congressional run in N.Y.
A longtime senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump is wondering aloud about running for the House seat that Rep. Elise Stefanik will vacate when she resigns after Mr. Trump nominates her to be U.N. ambassador. Published November 22, 2024
Republican lawmakers accuse Pentagon IG of hiding Jan. 6 evidence
The Committee on House Administration's Subcommittee on Oversight Chairman Barry Loudermilk sent a letter to the Defense Department's inspector general demanding a correction in the Pentagon's Jan. 6 report. Published November 21, 2024
Wray on the way out? Vance, Trump are interviewing FBI candidates
Vice President-elect J.D. Vance confirmed that he and President-elect Donald Trump are talking to FBI director candidates, which suggests Mr. Trump plans to fire current FBI Director Christopher A. Wray. Published November 20, 2024
Dems’ Jeffries says GOP lacks mandate to make big changes
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Republicans don't have a mandate to make sweeping changes in the upcoming spending agreement and later when President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House with a Republican Congress. Published November 19, 2024
Rep. Nancy Mace introduces resolution to ban transgender women from female restrooms in Capitol
Rep. Nancy Mace introduced a resolution Monday to prohibit transgender women from using female bathrooms at the Capitol. Published November 18, 2024
GOP contenders emerge in Ohio for J.D. Vance’s Senate seat
Several Republicans in Ohio are emerging as potential candidates to fill the Senate seat that will be vacated when Vice President-elect Sen. J.D. Vance takes the oath of office in January. Published November 18, 2024
Whistleblower warns FBI can’t be trusted with background checks for Trump’s nominees
An official at FBI headquarters in Washington is warning that the bureau's security clearance division is politicized and can't be trusted to screen President-elect Donald Trump's nominees for top administration jobs. Published November 16, 2024
Sen. Ron Johnson displays photo of Rachel Levine and Sam Brinton when asked about Matt Gaetz
Sen. Ron Johnson pushed back on a reporter's question about the House Ethics Committee report related to attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz, displaying a photograph of Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Services Rachel Levine, who is transgender, and non-binary former Biden Department of Energy official Sam Brinton. Published November 14, 2024
51 Biden laptop deniers in danger of losing security clearances; letter falsely accused Russia
Several Republican lawmakers want Congress to strip the security clearances of dozens of former U.S. intelligence officials who worked against President-elect Donald Trump in 2020 by asserting that information in the laptop of Hunter Biden was likely Russian disinformation. Published November 13, 2024
Justice Department kept FBI employees in the dark for years about whistleblower protections
A new Government Accountability Office report says that the Justice Department kept FBI employees in the dark for seven years after Congress updated whistleblower protections for bureau personnel in 2016. Published November 12, 2024
Republicans offer to escort Dave McCormick to Senate orientation in defiance of Schumer
A group of Senate GOP lawmakers say they are ready to defy Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and escort Republican Sen.-elect David McCormick of Pennsylvania into the lower chamber so he can participate in new member orientation this week. Published November 10, 2024
FBI winding down investigations of Jan. 6 that are still in pipeline, agency sources say
As Jan. 6 defendants anticipate pardons from President-elect Donald Trump, there are indications that the FBI is winding down any further investigations of the attack on the Capitol in 2021. Published November 8, 2024
GOP lawmakers call on Jack Smith to preserve documents related to Trump prosecutions
Two House Republican committee chairmen have called on special counsel Jack Smith to preserve all records surrounding the Biden-Harris administration's prosecutions of now President-elect Donald Trump. Published November 8, 2024
FBI brass ‘stunned’ and ‘shell-shocked’ over Trump reelection
The brass on the seventh floor at FBI headquarters in Washington are walking around in a daze and wary of a housecleaning since President-elect Donald Trump won his reelection on Tuesday, according to inside sources. Published November 7, 2024
New York Rep. Anthony D’Esposito loses reelection to Democrat Laura Gillen
Rep. Anthony D'Esposito of New York, a Republican saddled with a personal scandal in a competitive district, lost his bid for reelection by Democrat Laura Gillen, a lawyer and former Hempstead Town supervisor. Published November 7, 2024
Two New York Republicans refuse to concede elections in which they trail
New York Rep. Marcus Molinaro refused to concede a contest called for his Democratic opponent Josh Riley late Tuesday night. Another New York congressional race that remains in limbo is New York's 4th Congressional District, which is represented by Republican Rep. Anthony D'Esposito. Published November 6, 2024
Voters reject ranked choice voting and all-party primaries across country
Several states rejected ballot measures this election that would have established ranked choice voting and all-party primary systems in their states. Published November 6, 2024
GOP Rep. Marcus Molinaro loses reelection to Democrat Josh Riley
Rep. Marcus Molinaro of New York, a Republican in a swing congressional district, lost his reelection late Tuesday night to Democrat Josh Riley. Published November 6, 2024