Sen. Andy Kim (DN.J.) on Sunday prepared to support Rep. Elise Stefanik (RN.Y.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for their respective positions in the incoming Trump administration. I suggested that there was, but I said this. I have concerns about some of President-elect Trump's other options.
In an interview on CNN's “State of the Union,” anchor Dana Bash asked whether she could imagine voting for Kash Patel or Pete Hegseth, President Trump's choice for FBI director and defense secretary. asked Mr. Kim. each.
Mr. Kim responded by pointing to Mr. Stefanik and Mr. Rubio (who he nominated to be ambassador to the United Nations and secretary of state, respectively) as candidates that Mr. Trump could support.
“Look, I spoke with Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. I spoke with Sen. Rubio. You know, I'm still going through the process and I want to make sure it's done correctly. But those were good conversations and we were able to dig deep,” Kim said when asked about Patel and Hegseth.
“So I think there are some candidates that I think we can work with,” Kim added.
But Kim said his concerns were with Patel and Hegseth. He specifically pointed to concerns about Ms. Patel's past comments about dismantling the “deep state” and Ms. Hegseth's comments about women in the military, which she has since retracted.
“But I'm also very concerned about what Mr. Patel has said in the past and pursuing things like him being nominated to lead an agency that he's talked about dismantling.” It's about the deep state and what happened next,” Kim said. “I previously had a career as a civil servant in the federal government, working in the Bush and Obama administrations. I've served my country, not my political party, so I'm concerned about some of the tone that's out there. Masu.”
Kim said he would like to speak with Hegseth but has “real concerns” for now.
“I would love to have the opportunity to speak with Hegseth, but some of his previous statements that he doesn't believe women should be in combat, and some of the other allegations we've heard. It was very concerning. I used to work in the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon. I know what that job is like, and I need to know if he's going to get the job done. And right now, I have big concerns.”
