The leading Democrat on the House Committee on Government Oversight & Reform called on lawmakers to examine the vetting process of government officials before they take office amid the ongoing saga of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Rep. Elijah Cummings appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Thursday morning and said the current protocol needs to be looked at.
"This is not rocket science. Somebody should say, wait a minute. [Raise a] red flag to at least check out all of this," Cummings said, referencing the internal government discussions surrounding Flynn in the days before President Donald Trump took office.
Flynn was fired three weeks after he began working in the Trump White House after it was discovered he had previously undisclosed discussions with a Russian official. As a former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Flynn still had an active security clearance when he joined Trump's team.
"One of the things we need to do in our committee . . . we need to look at the vetting process and how it takes place," Cummings said. "In new administrations, whether they're Democratic or Republican. I'm hoping that chairman [Jason] Chaffetz and I can work together to get some things done."
More and more has been revealed about Flynn's contacts with foreign governments, which has contributed to the investigation into whether anyone on the Trump campaign had improper ties with Russia.
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice appointed former FBI director Robert Mueller as a special counsel to oversee the FBI's Russia probe.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.