Is there anyone on Trump’s team who actually vets his nominees?

Donald Trump’s team apparently missed that President-elect Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense rewarded a woman who accused him of sexual assault.

New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Monday that Trump’s staff while vetting Hegseth missed the payout because it was a “private settlement.” Saturday, Hegseth’s lawyer confirmed the payment after you have been contacted The Washington Post.

“They did visit a vet, we are told,” says Haberman said. “This didn’t come up, this issue, because it was a private settlement, according to the people who were aware of what happened. Trump really likes Pete Hegseth. But this introduced something that Trump does not like, namely an element of surprise and a negative headline.”

However, the vetting by Trump’s team is lacking Background check by the FBIthat have historically been part of the presidential nomination process. Instead, Trump’s team is using private companies as they try to speed up the process and avoid disclosures that could be used by their opponents.

But the avoidance of a security process that has been in place since the Eisenhower administration has backfired in Hegseth’s case and likely also prevented security concerns from coming to light about Trump’s other choices, such as Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, who has a controversial past. Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also has a history of actions that call into question his ability to obtain a degree. security clearance.

Trump seems to be stand there his choice of Hegseth despite the sexual assault allegations, which could potentially set off a showdown with Senate Republicans. His pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, also faced opposition following a House Ethics Committee investigation into the former congressman. accusations that he had trafficked and had sex with an underage girl at a party in 2017. It appears that Trump is already testing his limits as president weeks after his election.