Top GOP senators call for reform, ‘consequences’ in wake of law enforcement ‘leadership failure’

Top GOP senators criticized recent law enforcement failures by the FBI and other groups Sunday, calling on President-elect Trump’s administration to enact reforms.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Americans have lost trust in the FBI. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., also told “Fox News Sunday” that there need to be “consequences” for law enforcement failures that allowed incidents like last week’s terrorist attack in New Orleans.

“The FBI is an agency that I think is in need of reform, and it needs a good makeover, so to speak, and probably a good amount of housecleaning when it comes to the perception the American people have of it and these institutions that the American people need to have confidence and trust in,” Thune said Sunday.

He added that Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, “understands the mission.”

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune says the FBI is in need of reform. (Reuters)

Meanwhile, Cassidy reacted to news that New Orleans police had access to 48 barriers that could have prevented last week’s deadly truck attack. The permanent barriers blocking vehicle access to Bourbon Street were being replaced at the time of the attack, but authorities in the city could have deployed archer barriers that are rated to stop a 5,500-pound vehicle going 60 miles-per-hour.

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“There has to be leadership at the top. And if the leadership failed, as you describe it, then absolutely there has to be consequences. Period. End of story,” Cassidy said.

“Now, I think we’re going to have a kind of complete review of everything from top to bottom. And if that’s the way it ends up shaking out completely, she should be replaced,” he added, referencing New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is calling for a review of law enforcement decisions surrounding the New Orleans truck attack. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Thune and Cassidy’s statements come days after Trump’s allies excoriated the FBI for its initial characterization of the truck attack as not terror-related, before the nation’s top federal law enforcement agency backtracked and launched a terrorism investigation allegedly connected to ISIS.

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“The FBI has a no-fail mission. There is no room for error. When they fail, Americans die. It’s a necessity that Kash Patel gets confirmed ASAP,” a source close to Trump told Fox News Digital on Thursday morning. 

Military personnel walk down Bourbon Street on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

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Patel is one of many incoming Cabinet nominees who will need to go through Senate confirmation after Trump is inaugurated later this month.

Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.