Several of President-elect Donald Trump‘s incoming Cabinet nominees were targeted Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning with bomb threats or were swatted, according to Trump transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
The nominees “were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” Leavitt said in a statement Wednesday morning.
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“These attacks ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting,'” she continued. “In response, law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted. President Trump and the entire Transition team are grateful for their swift action.”
Leavitt did not list the names of the Cabinet nominees who were targeted and declined to provide details on who was targeted when contacted by the Washington Examiner.
However, Punchbowl News reported that former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who withdrew his nomination for attorney general last week, “received a pipe bomb threat” to his Florida home.
A bomb-sniffing dog was reportedly brought to his home, but Gaetz was not present at the time, although a family member was.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), House GOP Conference chairwoman and Trump’s incoming U.S. ambassador to the U.N., announced Wednesday that she too had been a victim of the targeting.
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“This morning, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, her husband, and their three year old son were driving home to Saratoga County from Washington for Thanksgiving when they were informed of a bomb threat to their residence,” Stefanik’s office said in a statement. “New York State, County law enforcement, and U.S. Capitol Police responded immediately with the highest levels of professionalism.”
Fox News also reported that Trump’s CIA nominee, John Ratcliffe, and defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, were among the officials targeted.
Former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin, now Trump’s nominee for Environmental Protection Agency administrator, also acknowledged that he was the victim of a pipe bomb threat.
“A pipe bomb threat targeting me and my family at our home today was sent in with a pro-Palestinian themed message,” Zeldin said in a statement. “My family and I were not home at the time and are safe. We are working with law enforcement to learn more as this situation develops.”
Local New York police announced that property owned by Howard Lutnick, the president-elect’s commerce secretary nominee, was the target of a bomb threat.
“President Trump and the Transition are focused on doing the work of uniting our nation by ensuring a safe and prosperous future,” Leavitt added. “With President Trump as our example, dangerous acts of intimidation and violence will not deter us.”
The FBI claimed it was aware of the several threats against the Cabinet nominees in a statement.
“We are working with our law enforcement partners,” the agency said. “We take all potential threats seriously and, as always, encourage members of the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement.”
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Trump himself survived two assassination attempts in the final months of the 2024 election. Two days before the start of the Republican National Convention, Trump famously raised his fist onstage at a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally after a would-be assassin’s bullet grazed his ear.
In September, another assassination attempt was thwarted as he was golfing in West Palm Beach, Florida.
