Kash Patel, President Trump’s nominee to serve as FBI director, is set to appear Thursday on Capitol Hill for a high-stakes confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee amid calls from Republicans for massive reforms in FBI leadership and concerns from Democrats about his fitness to lead the nation’s top law enforcement agency.
Patel — a staunch Trump ally and former federal prosecutor and national security official — was Mr. Trump in December to take the helm at the agency that has long been a target of the president’s ire. The FBI director at the time, Christopher Wray, appointed by Mr. Trump in his first term, then announced his departure from the top job despite having not yet served the full ten-year term. He told 60 Minutes his decision was prompted in part by a desire to transition “in an orderly way” and “not thrust the FBI deeper into the fray.”
Presidents have the power to replace FBI directors as they see fit and many past directors have not served full 10-year terms.
Patel previously served in intelligence and defense roles in Mr. Trump’s first term and held a position on the National Security Council and as chief of staff to the secretary of defense.
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An FBI whistleblower alleged that while serving in government, Patel violated firmly entrenched protocols to keep hostage rescue operations under wraps until the captives are safely in U.S. hands and their families have been notified, CBS News previously reported. In a letter obtained by CBS News, Sen. Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote that Patel, while serving on the National Security Council during the first Trump term, “broke protocol regarding hostage rescues by publicly commenting without authorization on the then-in-progress retrieval of two Americans held captive by Iranian-backed militants in Yemen in October 2020.”
A source close to Patel pushed back on the allegations and Democrats’ criticism, telling CBS News, “Mr. Patel was a public defender, decorated prosecutor and accomplished national security official that kept Americans safe. He has a track record of success in every branch of government, from the courtroom to congressional hearing room to the situation room. There is no veracity to this anonymous source’s complaints about protocol.”
A former Justice Department prosecutor, Patel has been highly critical of leadership within the organization and he has alleged recent cases against Mr. Trump were politically weaponized against the president and Republicans, allegations officials within the agency have previously denied.
In 2023, Patel published a book titled “Government Gangsters” in which he alleged the “FBI has become so thoroughly compromised that it will remain a threat to the people unless drastic measures are taken.” And he has pledged to take on government officials and members of the media who he said “lied about American citizens who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections.”
The FBI came under increased scrutiny from Mr. Trump and his allies in 2022, when FBI agents executed a court-authorized search warrant at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. The search exposed what had been an ongoing federal probe into Trump’s handling of classified records after he left office. The president has long denied wrongdoing and alleged the FBI and Justice Department were targeting him because of political considerations.
If confirmed by the Senate, Patel would be the third FBI director to work under a Trump administration and would take over the nation’s chief federal law enforcement apparatus amid years of intense criticism from Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill. He would report to the U.S. Attorney General. Trump’s pick for that role, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, cleared a critical committee vote on Wednesday and is likely to be confirmed for her post in the coming days.
Many Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee, including chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa, have applauded Patel’s nomination as a step toward needed reform.
“The common sense that we have in the Midwest – we need more of it in Washington, D.C. and I think the [nominees] are going to bring it in, and Kash is one of them,” Grassley said on a recent podcast.
Democrats, however, have been outspoken in their opposition to Patel’s nomination and pointed to his past as a reason for concern.
To be confirmed, Patel will first have to receive a majority of votes from within the GOP-led Senate Judiciary Committee, after which his nomination would be presented to the full senate for a vote.
Dan Klaidman contributed to this report.
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