GOP senator influenced decision to drop RFK’s daughter-in-law from Cabinet list: report

Robert F. Kennedy Jr's daughter-in-law and ex-undercover CIA operative Amaryllis Fox Kennedy was at the top of Donald Trump's list to become the agency's next director — until Monday.

Trump dropped his "consideration of RFK Jr.'s daughter-in-law for No. 2 job at CIA following campaign by Sen. Tom Cotton who lobbied Susie Wiles and others to oppose her," The Washington Post's John Hudson reported via X.

Hudson noted that while "Cotton, one of the most hawkish senators, opposed her over counterterrorism issues," the ex-Trump pick has a "different" story.

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The national security reporter posted a screenshot from his own Post report, which reads:

'A person close to Cotton said the senator's concerns pertained to comments Fox Kennedy made years ago to Al Jazeera noting the importance of understanding America's adversaries. 'The only real way to disarm your enemy is to listen to them,' Fox Kennedy told the news network. Cotton likened such remarks as sympathizing with terrorists, this person said.

Fox Kennedy has told others that the process of establishing commonalities with adversaries is a foundation of CIA's field tradecraft training, and that those efforts to recruit enemies as information sources are not sympathizing but at the core of basic spy craft, according to a person familiar with her private conversations.

Although Fox Kennedy — who's married to RFK Jr.'s son, Bobby Kennedy III — will no longer be considered for the deputy director position, "Trump has told others that he wanted a national security position for Fox Kennedy and that the CIA post was not the only option, said people familiar with the matter who suspect she is likely to be tapped for a position at the White House National Security Council or within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence."

The Washington Post's full report is available here (subscription required).