President-elect Donald Trump's chief of staff has asked Cabinet nominees to stop posting on social media as their Senate confirmation hearings are set to begin after the 119th Congress gets under way Friday.
"While this instruction has been delivered previously, I am reiterating that no member of the incoming administration or Transition speaks for the United States or the President-elect himself," Susie Wiles wrote Sunday in a memo obtained by the New York Post. "Accordingly, all intended nominees should refrain from any public social media posts without prior approval of the incoming White House counsel."
The memo is not in response to a recent social media dustup created by Department of Government Efficiency chairs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy over H-1B visas, the Post reported Monday, citing a source for Trump's transition team.
Musk and Ramaswamy will not need to be confirmed by the GOP-controlled Senate because DOGE is not an official agency of the executive branch.
"It was a reminder of the guidance to intended nominees as confirmation hearings get underway next week," the transition source told the Post.
Several Trump nominees, including Pete Hegseth (defense secretary), Kash Patel (FBI director), Tulsi Gabbard (director of national intelligence) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (head of the Department of Health and Human Services) have faced increased scrutiny in recent weeks, leading to them holding closed-door talks with senators on Capitol Hill in recent weeks — including some Democrats— to build support.
Trump's nominees have abstained from posting on their public social media accounts since Christmas Day, according to the Post, showing Wiles' directive is being followed.
The Senate confirmation process is expected to be less than smooth sailing for some of the 47th president's nominees in the GOP-controlled upper chamber. Republicans can only afford to lose three votes from among their own if Democrats refuse to support the confirmation of a nominee.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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