Trump administration picks targeted with bomb threats

NEW YORK, Nov 28 (Reuters): Several of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet and administration picks were targeted this week with actions including bomb threats and "swatting," a spokesperson for the transition team said on Wednesday.

The threats were made Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, and law enforcement acted quickly to ensure the safety of those targeted, spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

Elise Stefanik, a Republican US representative and Trump's choice to be US ambassador to the United Nations, and Lee Zeldin, a former Republican congressman who is Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency, both said in separate statements they had been the targets of bomb threats.

On Wednesday evening Pete Hegseth, Trump's nominee to be US defense secretary, said his family had been the target of a pipe bomb threat.

"This morning, a police officer arrived at our home - where our seven children were still sleeping. The officer notified my wife and I that they had received a credible pipe bomb threat targeting me and my family. We are all safe and the threat has been cleared," Hegseth said on X.

An FBI spokesperson said the bureau is aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees and is working with its law enforcement partners.

Swatting is the filing of false reports to police to induce a potentially heavy, armed response by officers at someone's home. Law enforcement experts see it as a form of intimidation or harassment that is increasingly being used to target prominent figures.