Congressional Democrats want more guardrails for presidential nominees

As President-elect Donald Trump continues to tap prospective nominees to serve in his cabinet come January, Democrats have penned a pair of companion bills seeking more transparency into the potential foreign influence on several selections. 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s, D-Mass., and Rep. Andy Kim’s, D-N.J., National Security Officials’ Foreign Employment Disclosure Act (H.R.10224), introduced on Nov. 21, would require nominees seeking Senate confirmation at the Defense, State and Treasury departments, as well as the Intelligence Community, to disclose any work done or compensation received from a foreign power within the last five years. 

“At a time when trust in government is at historic lows, we need to be taking steps to show the American people they can have faith that their government officials are working to serve their interests first,” said Kim, the senator-elect from New Jersey, in a statement. “This bill would help prioritize transparency in the confirmation process, mitigate foreign influence and bolster people’s confidence in presidential nominees as they seek to represent our country’s national security interests.”

The bill would seek to amend federal statutes governing Senate-confirmed vacancies, requiring nominees to disclose publicly “the source, type and amount or value of any funds received by such individual from the government of a foreign country, a foreign political party or a foreign governmental entity” within five days of the Senate receiving their nomination. 

Nominees would also have to include the source, type of any goods or service performed, amount or value of any funds received and the duration of the work performed by the nominee in the five years prior to the nomination. 

Nominees would also have to disclose any waivers they had previously requested, and the outcome of the request, to work for a foreign government. 

The information in question would be provided to the Senate committees on Armed Services and Foreign Relations, as well as being available on publicly accessible websites of the Defense, State and Treasury departments, as well as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. 

The legislation seeking further nominee scrutiny comes as the incoming second Trump administration has announced several unconventional picks for cabinet positions — including former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, for director of National Intelligence; former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services secretary and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary. 

It also follows an early scandal from the first Trump term, namely the resignation of then-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn following an FBI investigation into conversations he had with the Russian ambassador during the 2017 transition. 

Amid that scrutiny, Flynn also retroactively registered as a lobbyist for the Turkish government for work done before his selection as National Security Adviser. Following a lengthy legal battle resulting from the FBI investigation, Trump pardoned Flynn in 2020 for lying to investigators. 

“The American people shouldn’t have to worry that high-ranking government officials are in the pocket of a foreign government,” said Warren in a statement. “The National Security Officials’ Foreign Employment Disclosure Act will guarantee the public and Congress can consider a nominee’s potential loyalties before their confirmation.”

The House version of the legislation has been referred to the Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, Ways and Means and Intelligence committees. The Senate version (S.5382) has been referred to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.