After New Year's Terror Attacks, Senate Must Confirm Trump's National Security Team ASAP

Because of the shocking terrorist attacks on New Year’s Day in New Orleans and Las Vegas, the U.S. Senate must confirm President Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks for national security as soon as possible. The ACLJ offers up prayers for those who were injured and for the family members of those who were murdered in the senseless attacks.

The FBI just released a statement that “there is no definitive link” between the attack in New Orleans that has resulted in 15 dead and the terrorist attack in Las Vegas with the Tesla Cybertruck at Trump Hotel. So the FBI believes each terrorist acted alone even though both attacks had similarities.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar, whom the FBI has identified as the New Orleans terrorist, clearly had a well-crafted plan for killing as many people as possible, renting an electric Ford F-150 and stocking it with assault weapons and explosives. Choosing an electric vehicle allowed him to be quieter in approaching Bourbon Street, where he rammed into civilians and then unloaded on innocent bystanders with an assault rifle. He also wounded two police officers before being killed in a shootout.

Also on the truck was a black ISIS flag, and authorities have uncovered that the Army veteran posted on his Facebook account that he had joined the terrorist organization this past summer. He had also posted other videos online supporting ISIS.

How did law enforcement miss this guy after he had posted so much pro-ISIS support on his social media? The government should have been aware of him also due to his military training and direct ties to Fort Bragg. He should have been on their radar.

The same is true with Matthew Livelsberger, the terrorist with the Cybertruck that blew up in front of Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. He was an active-duty U.S. Army soldier who also had spent time at Fort Bragg.

I’m not blaming local law enforcement for what happened in New Orleans and Las Vegas. But the national intelligence community clearly failed yet again. And in typical fashion, the Biden-Harris FBI was slow in labeling the attackers as terrorists, first stating: “This is not a terrorist event.”

ACLJ Senior Advisor for National Security and Foreign Policy Ric Grenell weighed in on Biden FBI’s weak response:

We had an attack in New Orleans on New Year’s from an individual driving a truck with an ISIS flag waving in the back, and the FBI spokeswoman says this wasn’t a terrorist attack. If that doesn’t tell you the problems that we’ve faced over the last four years with a woke FBI and woke intelligence service, then I don’t know what else can prove it to you. But we have just allowed 15 million people to illegally come into our country and either be here illegally or break the law. Some are part of sleeper cells, but others are starting to radicalize individuals. We have a problem in our military with individuals becoming radicalized while serving in the U.S. military. This is a red alert for America. We’ve got to clean up the DOD [Department of Defense]. We’ve got to clean up the intelligence agencies, including the FBI.

Unfortunately, the Biden-Harris DOD has spent too much time training its personnel to label pro-life supporters as “terrorist groups” – at Fort Bragg, where the two terrorists had direct connections – instead of tracking actual terrorists who want to wreak havoc. It’s why America must get qualified individuals back in charge of our national security.

I’m proud, too, of the work the ACLJ did in demanding that the DOD stop equating those trying to save the unborn with ISIS terrorists. Our legal demand letter resulted in the Army acknowledging its error and pledging it would not happen again. But the damage has been done.

Because of the present threats to America, we need a new intelligence team in place right away. The U.S. Senate will start taking steps next week to confirm President Trump’s Cabinet picks. However, no vote can take place on a nominee until the transfer of power between Administrations has taken place on January 20.

We’re not the only ones calling for the Senate to act quickly – some U.S. Senators are also calling for expediency. Until the right people are running the intelligence community, we remain extremely vulnerable.

We are preparing to send a demand letter to Senate leadership calling for the quick confirmation of Trump’s national security team, and you can add your name here.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included a full analysis of the terrorist attack in New Orleans and why the Senate must confirm Trump’s national security team quickly.

Watch the full broadcast below: