President Donald Trump’s controversial FBI director nominee, Kash Patel, is appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee now.
In his opening remarks, Patel laid out his vision for the FBI, telling senators that the agency must return to tackling violent crime and committing to transparency for the law enforcement organization. Anticipating questions over his qualifications for the job, Patel told the panel about his years as a public defender, a federal terrorism prosecutor, a senior director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council and a staffer to the director of national intelligence during the first Trump administration.
“If confirmed as the next FBI director, I will remain focused on the FBI’s core mission: that is to investigate fully wherever there is a constitutional factual basis to do so and to never make a prosecutorial decision that is solely the providence of the Department of Justice and the attorney general,” Patel said.
Opening the hearing, Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sought to reject the implication that Patel was unqualified for the job, specifically rebuking the idea that Patel had a so-called “enemies list.”
Trump named Patel to replace Christopher Wray, the former FBI director from Trump’s previous time in office. Trump ultimately came to believe Wray was launching efforts to weaponize the agency against him, forcing Wray to resign. Patel, meanwhile, is a longtime Trump loyalist who, as a House staffer, worked to discredit the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
“You’ll take charge of an FBI that is in crisis,” Grassley said. “Remember, either you’re going to run your agency or the agency’s going to run you, and the agency certainly ended up running Director Wray and probably people before him.”
Committee ranking member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in opening remarks accused Patel of peddling conspiracy theories around the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol and pointed to the list of alleged “Deep State” officials in the nominee’s book that includes a number of Democrats and former Trump administration officials.
But despite condemnation from Democrats and a number of former Trump administration officials who also oppose Patel’s confirmation, Patel’s chances of being approved to lead the FBI appear largely certain. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who briefly wavered on supporting Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense and has yet to commit his support for DNI nominee Tulsi Gabbard, introduced Patel Thursday mroning in a highly effusive address — a nod to how safe Patel’s odds of confirmation appear to be.
