Republican senator praises current FBI director Christopher Wray, calls Putin a ‘tyrant’

Republican Sen. Mike Rounds emphasized his support for current FBI Director Christopher Wray after President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to nominate loyalist Kash Patel to the department’s top job.

“I think the president picked a very good man to be director of the FBI in his first term,” Rounds told Jonathan Karl, co-anchor of ABC’s “This Week,” about Wray. “When we met him behind closed doors, I had no objection to the way he behaved, and therefore I have no complaints about the way he did his job at the moment.”

However, Rounds reiterated the president-elect’s right to choose his cabinet and Trump’s choice of Patel is not surprising.

“It doesn’t surprise me that he picks people that he feels are very true to himself, and that’s part of the process,” Rounds said. “Every president wants people who are true to themselves. »

In his book “Government Gangsters,” Patel calls for a “complete cleanup” of the Justice Department and the eradication of “government tyranny” within the FBI, promising to fire and prosecute those responsible. Patel also promoted conspiracy theories about the “deep state” and vehemently defended the January 6 rioters.

FBI directors are nominated and confirmed for 10-year terms. After being appointed by Trump, Wray’s tenure began in August 2017. A few months earlier, Trump had fired James Comey, who still had less than four years left on his tenure as director. Trump did not mention Wray in his Truth Social article announcing Patel as director, but unless Wray resigns from his position, Trump will have to fire him to appoint a new leader.

“The president has the right to make appointments, but normally these are for a 10-year term,” Rounds explained. “We’ll see what his process is and if he actually makes this appointment.”

Rounds reiterated that while the Senate would give Trump the “benefit of the doubt,” it would uphold his “constitutional role.”

“We always follow a process, and that process includes advice and consent, which for the Senate sometimes means advice or consent,” Rounds promised.

As for the world stage, Rounds – a strong supporter of US aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia – called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “tyrant” and suggested that negotiating with him could be futile .

“I think Mr. Putin is a tyrant. I think dealing with him is going to be extremely difficult,” Rounds said, expressing hope that Trump succeeds but acknowledging that it would be a challenge for “any president.”

“I want to see Ukraine protect its sovereignty,” he said. “I just think it will be a very important task to overcome what Putin is proposing” about Ukraine ceding territory to end the war.

He added that you can’t trust “a guy who doesn’t keep his word,” which is what he said Putin did.

Regarding Trump’s promise to impose 25 percent tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico, Rounds said the president-elect is a “successful businessman” who “truly believes that customs duties can be an excellent tool.”

“He thinks that by proposing these tariffs now, he’s going to get the attention of leaders of other countries,” Rounds said, adding that Trump thinks the tariffs will “fix our borders.”

However, Rounds also acknowledged the potential impact of tariffs on his constituents, particularly South Dakota farmers who could be affected by the tariffs.

In 2018, China retaliated against Trump’s tariffs by imposing its own tariffs on U.S. soybean exports, hurting U.S. farmers.

“Listen, we are one [agricultural] State. And when I talk to my farmers and ranchers about it, they worry about retaliation,” Rounds said, while adding that they understand the importance of tariffs, especially when it comes to border.

“If we have to impose tariffs, so be it,” he said. “We will support the president.”