As he assembles his team for a second term, President-elect Donald Trump is entitled to some latitude, even for his more unconventional picks. Yet not all executive-branch positions are created equal. Senate Republicans should be willing to draw a line when it comes to national security.

Of particular concern are the nation's intelligence services, which Trump has proposed putting in the hands of Kash Patel (as Federal Bureau of Investigation director), John Ratcliffe (to head the Central Intelligence Agency) and Tulsi Gabbard (director of national intelligence). The three have varying degrees of qualification for their posts. Ratcliffe, a former congressman and national intelligence director in Trump's first term, has some experience in the field. After working as a junior federal prosecutor, Patel filled counterterrorism roles on Trump's National Security Council. Gabbard served on the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees while in Congress and is a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve.