Kash Patel’s bid to serve as the next director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation got a shot in the arm on Thursday as a key U.S. Senate committee voted to send his nomination to the floor for a full vote as soon as next week.
Patel, a former national security advisor in the first Trump administration, is the last in a line of controversial nominees put forward by President Donald Trump to lead large agencies over the next four years. He has sharply criticized the “deep state” and drawn equal disdain from Senate Democrats eager to portray him as a radical for his denouncements of many sentences handed down to J6 participants.
The 12-10 vote saw unanimous support among Republicans as well as opposition by Democrats. It came only after Democrats successfully delayed Patel’s nomination by requiring him to sit for testimony a second time, according to Fox News.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called the allegations against Patel “baseless” shortly before the committee voted to send his nomination to the floor for a full vote. After five hours of testimony by Patel and receiving 150 pages of related documents, the committee “has examined every detail of [Patel’s] life,” he added.
Thursday’s development almost did not occur after ranking member Dick Durbin (D-IL) propagated allegations that Patel had been quietly overseeing the firing of FBI officials before he could be confirmed. Patel has denied his involvement, and an aide said he flew home to Las Vegas after his second hearing, where he has “been sitting” waiting “for the process to play out.”
In his 2023 book, “Government Gangsters,” Patel described the FBI as “a tool of surveillance and suppression of American citizens” and “one of the most cunning and powerful arms of the Deep State.”
He has cited the Bureau’s “intent” to undermine Trump during his first term and its failure to help prevent two assassination attempts against the president during the 2024 campaign. These are legitimate grievances not grounded in comeuppance, he testified.
“There will be no politicization at the FBI,” Patel said. “There will be no retributive action.”
During his first hearing, Patel was questioned by Sen. Durban whether America is “safer” after President Trump pardoned all 1,600 J6 prisoners, one of whom has already been shot and killed by police after a standoff. Patel threw the allegation back in the Democrat’s face.
“I’ve advocated for imprisoning those that cause harm to our law enforcement and civilian communities,” said Patel. “I also believe America is not safer because of President Biden’s commutation of a man who murdered two FBI agents. Agent Coler and Williams’ families deserve better than to have the man that, at point-blank range, fired a shotgun into their heads and murdered them, released from prison. So it goes both ways.”
