By JILL COLVIN and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

NEW YORK (AP) — A streak of president-elect Donald Trump The most prominent Cabinet picks and appointees have been targeted by bomb threats and “hit attacks,” Trump’s transition team said Wednesday. The FBI said it was investigating.

“Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and administration appointees were targeted by violent, un-American threats against their lives and those who live with them,” said Trump transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, in a statement.

She said the attacks ranged from bomb threats to hit-and-runs, where attackers initiate an emergency law enforcement response against a targeted victim under false pretenses. The tactic has become a popular one in recent years.

Leavitt said law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted, and Trump and his transition team are grateful.

Among those targeted were New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump’s choice to serve as the next ambassador to the United Nations; Matt Gaetz, Trump’s initial pick to serve as attorney general; and former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin, who was hit to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

Law enforcement officials are also looking into whether Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, and Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general whom Trump tapped to replace Gaetz, and other administration officials were , also victims – as well as how each was targeted. , according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity while the investigation continues.

Wiles and Bondi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The FBI said in a statement that it is “aware of numerous bomb threats and confrontational incidents targeting future administration nominees and appointees” and is investigating with its law enforcement partners.

The FBI added, “We take all potential threats seriously and, as always, encourage members of the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement.”

White House spokeswoman Saloni Sharma said President Joe Biden had been informed and that the White House was in contact with federal law enforcement and Trump’s transition team.

Biden “continues to monitor the situation closely,” Sharma said, adding that the president and his administration “condemn threats of political violence.”

Stefanik’s office said that on Wednesday morning, she, her husband and their 3-year-old son were driving home from Washington for Thanksgiving when they were informed of a bomb threat to their Saratoga County residence.

Her office said “New York State, county law enforcement and the U.S. Capitol Police responded immediately with the highest level of professionalism.”

New York State Police said a team was dispatched to sweep Stefanik’s home Wednesday morning in response to the bomb threat, but did not locate any explosive devices. The agency referred other questions to the FBI.

Zeldin said in a social media post that he and his family had been threatened.

“A bomb threat targeting me and my family at our home today was sent with a pro-Palestinian message,” wrote on X. “My family and I were not at home at the time and we are safe. We are working with law enforcement to learn more as this situation develops.”

Police in Suffolk County, Long Island, said emergency officers responded to a bomb threat Wednesday morning at an address listed in public records as Zeldin’s home and were checking the property.

In Florida, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office he said on Facebook that it “received notification of a bomb threat referencing former Congressman Matt Gaetz’s alleged mailbox at a home in the Niceville area” around 9 a.m. Wednesday.

While a family member lives at the address, the office said Gaetz is “NOT a resident.” No threat devices were found.

Gaetz was Trump’s original choice to serve as attorney general, but withdrew from consideration after allegations that he paid women for sex and slept with underage women. Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and said last year that a Justice Department investigation into allegations of sex trafficking involving underage girls ended without federal charges against him.