WASHINGTON – The Senate Judiciary Committee grilled Kash Patel, a former Trump administration official and outspoken critic of the intelligence community, about his vision for the FBI as its next director of the Bureau of Investigation.
Unlike other confirmation hearings this week, where cabinet nominees were met with applause when entering the room, Patel was greeted with silence from the onlookers.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced and welcomed the nominee before displaying a homemade bingo.
“I consider it a serious caricature of what I expect to be witnessed today. I think we’ll have words like ‘enemies list’ and ‘deep state,’” Tillis said. Later, Tillis said he’d hit bingo a couple of times.
“I hope you put money on it, Senator,” Patel said to him.
Throughout the hearing, senators questioned Patel on his loyalty to Trump, past promises to prosecute former officials critical of President Trump and his book Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy. But, when questioned about Trump’s presidential pardons for those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Patel firmly opposed the pardons extended to defendants who assaulted officers.
“I have always rejected any violence against law enforcement, and I have included in that group specifically addressed any violence against law enforcement on January 6,” Patel said. “I do not agree with the commutation of any sentence of any individual who committed violence against law enforcement.”
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) pressed Patel on a social media post in which he wrote: “January 6th, never an insurrection, cowards in uniform, exposed.” Durbin asked, “Who was in the Capitol Building in uniform? Capitol Police. Do you think they were cowards?”
Kash Patel outlined his plans to “let good cops be cops,” restore trust in the FBI, and work with Congress to provide government accountability at his confirmation hearing on Jan. 30, 2025. (Valerie Chu/MNS)
Patel responded by criticizing the delayed National Guard response.
“Any delay to have the National Guard arrive on scene here must be called out, whether it was a fellow Republican or not,” Patel said, referencing his time at the Department of Defense.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) urged Patel to turn and face Capitol Police officers in the room. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) expressed concerns that Patel’s nomination signaled a shift toward weaponizing the FBI for political purposes.
“Those pardons, as Mr. Patel has said, are a mistake, but they are also a signal that we are entering a strange and dangerous time,” Whitehouse said. “The FBI could become Trump’s enforcer … to… stifle speech and dissent, punish political rivals of either party, and hand out get-out-of-jail-free cards for violent supporters.”
Patel deflected when Durbin asked if pardoning Jan. 6 defendants would make America safer.
He said that America can only be considered safe when the country no longer experiences “200,000 drug overdoses over two years” or “50,050 homicides in a day.” He also criticized President Biden’s decision to commute the sentence of a man convicted of murdering two FBI agents, emphasizing, “It goes both ways.”
Senators raised concerns about Patel’s qualifications, citing opposition from both political figures and former Trump administration officials. They spoke of how former Attorney General Bill Barr dismissed Patel’s experience, stating he lacked the respect needed to lead day-to-day FBI operations, let alone serve as its deputy. Also raised was how Trump’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton called Patel’s ideas “ludicrous,” deemed him “absolutely unqualified,” and declared his nomination a “disgrace.”
However, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) defended Patel, crediting his work exposing misconduct in the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation. “Was it you that was able to find out that the Steele Dossier was a bunch of crap?” He asked the nominee.
Patel confirms he “followed the money” and was involved in drafting the Nunes Memo, which criticized the FBI’s handling of the Trump-Russia probe. Graham countered that Patel’s work exposing FBI misconduct in the Russia probe qualified him for the role.
Those in attendance reflected the deep divisions surrounding Patel’s nomination.
Among those present were his parents and sister, the family of Ashli Babbitt, former FBI Director William Webster, and former official Olivia Troye, whom Patel had previously threatened with legal action for opposing his nomination.
Patel has previously said he would like to go after “conspirators” in the government and media. This has raised alarms he could direct the FBI to target Trump’s critics.
Indeed, Patel’s own words have raised alarms. He has openly advocated for going after journalists, saying, “We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government, but in the media. We’re going to come after you, whether it’s criminally or civilly.”
After asking Patel if he referred to the media as “the most powerful enemy of the United States,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) demanded Patel answer, “if he said that the FBI headquarters, where they investigate cyber crime and terrorism, should be shut down and open as a deep state museum.”
“If the best attacks on me are the false accusations and grotesque mischaracterizations, the only thing this body is doing is defeating the credibility of the men and women at the FBI,” Patel said.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said he wholeheartedly supported the nominee.
“Your commitment to the Constitution, to the rule of law and the American people is remarkable, and I’m honored to know you, to call you my friend and to give you my vote,” he said.
Sen. Schiff claimed Patel’s only qualification is “his willingness to say yes, when everyone else would say no, to whatever the President wanted to do.”
Similarly, others questioned Patel’s loyalty to Trump.
“Would you be willing to resign the post of FBI director if pressed and given no choice but to obey [Trump’s] order or resign?” Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) asked the nominee.
Patel said that he would “always” obey the law.
Coons also asked the nominee if he would follow through on past promises of prosecuting former officials like FBI Director Chris Wray.
“I have no interest, no desire, and will not, if confirmed, go backwards. There will be no politicization at the FBI. There will be no retributive actions taken by any FBI,” Patel responded.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D- Conn.) gave Patel his “first test” by asking him if Patel would not tolerate the firing of the FBI agents who worked with Special Counsel Jack Smith on investigations into Trump.
“Every FBI employee will be held to the absolute same standard, and no one will be terminated for cases,” Patel responded. “All FBI employees will be protected against political retribution.”
“If you can’t commit that those FBI agents will be protected from political retribution, we can’t accept you as FBI director,” Blumenthal said. “That was your first test. You failed.”
