Top Republican senators call for reform, ‘consequences’ after ‘failure of leadership’ by police
Top Republican senators criticized recent failures by the FBI and other law enforcement groups on Sunday, calling on President-elect Trump’s administration to implement reforms.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Americans have lost confidence in the FBI. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., also told “Fox News Sunday” that there must be “consequences” for the lapses in law enforcement that allowed incidents like last week’s terrorist attack in New Orleans to happen.
“The FBI is an agency that I think needs reform, and it needs a good overhaul, so to speak, and probably a good amount of cleaning up when it comes to the perception that the American people have of it and these institutions that Americans have to trust and have confidence in,” he said. is Thune on Sunday.
He added that Trump’s nominee to head the FBI, Kash Patel, “gets the mission.”
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune says the FBI needs reform. (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Cassidy reacted to the news that New Orleans police had access to 48 barriers that could have prevented last week’s deadly truck attack. Permanent barriers blocking vehicle access Bourbon Street they were replaced at the time of the attack, but city officials were able to install archery barriers designed to stop a 5,500-pound vehicle traveling at 60 miles per hour.
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“There has to be leadership at the top. And if the leadership has failed, as you describe it, then there absolutely has to be consequences. Period. End of story,” Cassidy said.
“Now, I think we’re going to have some kind of a complete audit of everything from top to bottom. And if that’s the way it ends up completely, she needs to be replaced,” he added, referring to New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is calling for a review of law enforcement’s decisions regarding the New Orleans truck attack. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Thune and Cassidy’s statements come days after Trump’s allies criticized the FBI for its initial characterization of the truck attack as unrelated to terrorism, before the nation’s top federal law enforcement agency backed down and launched an investigation into terrorism allegedly linked to ISIS.
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“The FBI has a no-fail mission. There is no room for error. When they fail, Americans die. It is imperative that Kash Patel be confirmed as soon as possible,” a source close to Trump told Fox News Digital on Thursday morning.
Military personnel walk down Bourbon Street on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
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Patel is one of many future Trump cabinet nominees who will have to undergo Senate confirmation after Trump is inaugurated later this month.
Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
