Joseph mccarthy burst to national prominence by charging that there were known communists in the select one: a. state department. b. defense department. c. truman cabinet. d. central intelligence agency. e. united states senate.

The correct answer is A. The State Department.

Joseph McCarthy made this claim during a speech in West Virginia in February of 1950. Here are his exact words:

"I have here in my hand a list of 205a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State department."

This is one of my speeches where McCarthy claims that he has a list of communist who are involved in American society. These claims lead to great suspicion and help fuel the proceedings of the House Un-American Activities Committee.