President Trump’s nominee for FBI Director, Kash Patel, who has been widely branded as a conspiracy theorist, was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday.
Two Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, joined every Democrat in voting against Patel. Sen. Mitch McConnell voted in favor of Patel after opposing three other Trump nominees.
The FBI has been gripped by upheaval over the past month as the Trump administration has sough to purge the bureau of agents who investigated the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
Collins said she was worried about the recent actions by the Department of Justice that appeared politically motivated and led to the resignations of several career federal prosecutors who she said “felt they were being instructed to act in a manner inconsistent with their ethical obligations.”
“In addition, a questionnaire has been sent to thousands of FBI employees regarding their involvement in certain investigations. As I have stated previously, these initiatives raise the specter that adverse actions could be taken against FBI employees - including special agents in the field - who have dedicated their careers to public service and who do not choose their assignments,” Collins said.
“My reservations with Mr. Patel stem from his own prior political activities and how they may influence his leadership,” Murkowski said. “The FBI must be trusted as the federal agency that roots out crime and corruption, not focused on settling political scores. I have been disappointed that when he had the opportunity to push back on the administration’s decision to force the FBI to provide a list of agents involved in the January 6 investigations and prosecutions, he failed to do so.”
Patel—a staunch Trump loyalist—previously held key roles in the Department of Defense and the National Security Council during Trump’s first term. Supporters argue he will reform the agency, focusing on law enforcement rather than politics.
“He’s exactly who we need to restore the Bureau’s focus to keeping Americans safe and putting criminals behind bars. Politics out, public safety in,” Sen. Katie Britt said in a video ahead of the vote.
Democrats sought to delay Patel’s confirmation and argued during his hearings that he would turn the FBI into a “sycophantic goon squad.” They unsuccessfully pushed for a second hearing, after highlighting his past threats to shutter the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s headquarters and his promotion of conspiracy theories alleging FBI involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. He also embraced the extreme far-right QAnon conspiracy involving far-fetched claims of pedophilia and child sex trafficking by liberal politicians.
Patel is the latest in a string of controversial Trump nominees to be rubber-stamped by the Senate. His confirmation follows those of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“Mr. Patel has been open about his plans to dismantle the FBI. His alleged directives as a private citizen have already thrown the Bureau into chaos,” Sen. Dick Durbin, the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said. “Mr. Patel will be a political and national security disaster. With his confirmation, I fear for the future of the FBI.”
Durbin said that multiple whistleblowers have come forward with “credible information” indicating that Patel personally directed the Trump administration’s purge of senior law enforcement officials.
“My Senate Republican colleagues are willfully ignoring myriad red flags about Mr. Patel, especially his recurring instinct to threaten retribution against his and President Trump’s perceived enemies—they will soon come to regret this vote," Durbin warned.
