Few GOP senators are raising early opposition to President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel.
Even Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) — who was outspoken against Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) potentially becoming attorney general — didn’t immediately dismiss Patel on Monday, saying she’d need time to review his profile.
“I don’t know Kash Patel,” Collins said. “I had heard his name, but I don’t know his background, and I’m going to have to do a lot of work before reaching a decision on him. In general, I’ve found it’s important to review the background check, the committee work and the public hearing.”
Trump announced his selection of Patel to lead the FBI over the weekend. Christopher Wray, the current leader of the bureau who was originally appointed by Trump in 2017, has been confirmed to a term through 2027. That means Patel, if confirmed, would usurp Wray from the seat years ahead of schedule.
Trump can only afford to lose three Republican votes on any nominee if Democrats are unified in opposition.
Patel is a fierce and vocal supporter of Trump’s and served in the president-elect’s first administration as a staffer for the National Security Council. He was also a senior staffer for former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), who repeatedly attempted to discredit the Russia investigation from his perch atop the House Intelligence Committee.
Patel has promised to purge the FBI of people he sees as unloyal to Trump and has indicated he would seek a near-total revamp of the agency. In Trump’s statement announcing his intent to nominate Patel, he commended the soon-to-be nominee for playing “a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, standing as an advocate for truth, accountability, and the Constitution.”
Trump has personally railed against the FBI, particularly after agents conducted a search for classified documents at his residence at Mar-a-Lago in 2022.
A number of GOP senators on Monday evening said they thought Patel could be confirmed. Soon-to-be Senate GOP Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said “the president ought to have who he wants serving in his administration.” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he plans on meeting with Patel this week and is “in a presumptive positive position” over the nomination “right now.”
“I do think he will be able to get confirmed, absolutely,” said Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who has expressed reservations about Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to be Defense secretary.
Though there aren’t immediate signs of mass opposition to Patel’s nomination, there are some concerns about cutting Wray’s term short. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) noted Trump picked Wray himself for a 10-year term in 2017 and that the senator had no “complaints” or “objections” with the current leadership team.
“We provide advice and consent,” Rounds said on ABC’s “This Week.” “That can be sometimes advice, sometimes it is consent.”
Collins also noted she thinks Wray has done “a good job” as FBI director. Still, many Republicans disagree with that assessment, and some like Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) insist “Kash Patel would be perfect to clean house over there.”
It is clear, however, that Trump cannot count on Democratic support to get Patel’s nomination across the finish line.
“He has said things about weaponization of law enforcement and reform in the FBI, which leads some to believe — I hope it’s not true — that he will take the same type of revenge politically that he’s accusing this administration of,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said on Monday.
