MAGA loyalist Kash Patel has been confirmed by the Senate as Donald Trump’s FBI Director.
It heralded a shaking up the agency that has been at the center of ‘politicization’ accusations and scrutiny by the GOP.
Patel, who once said he would shut down the FBI building on day one and accused the bureau of being part of the ‘Deep State,’ is now locked into a 10-year term.
His confirmation in a 51-49 vote came after a blistering battle between Democrats and Republicans with Trump critics slamming Patel as unqualified and lacking the temperament to be top cop.
He is the latest in a series of controversial Trump nominees to make it through confirmation along party lines as Republicans have enough senators to confirm them without bipartisan support.
Republican Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaksa) joined every Democrat in voting ‘no.’
Patel, 44, was confirmed to replace former FBI director Christopher Wray, who Trump also nominated during his first term before turning on him.
It was not always clear if Patel would have the necessary support to be confirmed, but GOP senators have repeatedly folded to MAGA pressure despite raising some concerns over nominees.
Collins (R-Maine) on Thursday announced she would vote ‘no’ on Patel’s confirmation just hours before the vote.
She noted in a statement the recent resignations of career federal prosecutors who ‘felt they were being instructed in a manner inconsistent with their ethical obligations’ and a recent questionnaire sent to FBI employees regarding their involvement in investigations.
Collins said there was a ‘compelling need for an FBI Director who is decidedly apolitical.’
‘Mr. Patel’s recent political profile undermines his ability to serve in the apolitical role of Director of the FBI,’ Collins said.
Murkowski (R-Alaska) also voted ‘no’ on his nomination, saying in a statement that her reservations stem from his prior political activities and how they would influence his leadership.
After Patel’s confirmation hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democrats sounded the alarm that Patel may have perjured himself during his confirmation hearing.
The top Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said credible whistleblowers had come forward with evidence that he was directing the purge of FBI officials before even taking office.
But when asked directly whether he was aware of discussions about firing agents connected to Trump investigations during the hearing, Patel flat out denied any knowledge of it in response to a question from Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.).
Republicans have pushed back on Democrats outrage and have argued that Patel is the right man for the job as they accuse the bureau of being ‘weaponized’ against the president who was charges multiple times after his first term.
Democrats counter that the weaponization claims are demonstrably false as Trump was convicted in court by a jury for committing crimes and the Justice Department has also brought criminal charges against Democrats.
They said installing Patel to lead the agency could do irreparable harm to the bureau tasked with protecting Americans.
Patel’s nomination was advanced out of committee last week along party lines after a brutal confirmation hearing last month where Patel was forced to address allegations that he would use the bureau to seek retribution against Trump’s foes.
The now-incoming FBI director as a long history of publicly calling for punishments against people he argues are part of the ‘deep state’ and undermining Trump.
‘The Deep state is continuing to weaponize the power of the state against internal dissidents,’ Patel wrote in his 2023 book.
He accused them of covering up their own crimes, called them criminals and wrote that the FBI is ‘one of the most cunning and powerful arms of the Deep State.’
Patel’s list of more than 50 he accuses of being in the ‘deep state’ appeared in the appendix of his book ‘Government Gangsters’ and includes President Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Kamala Harris as well as former Trump administration officials like Bill Barr.
Democrats referred to the group as Patel’s ‘enemies list’ and took serious issue with it at his January 30 confirmation hearing.
But Patel insisted in his hearing that it was not an ‘enemies list’ and that there would be ‘no retributive actions’ if he were confirmed.
Democratic senators also accused Patel of peddling in conspiracy theories. In the past, he appeared to court QAnon when he called ‘the Q thing’ a movement.
‘I disagree with a lot of what that movement says, but I agree with a lot of what that movement says,’ he said in a 2022 podcast interview.
But Patel pushed back when Democrats brought it up, arguing that they were twisting his words and misleading.
He also rejected the accusations raised by Democratic senators who took issue with him raising money that went to the families of January 6 insurrectionists who attacked the U.S. Capitol in 2021.
‘I never, never ever accepted violence against law enforcement,’ Patel said in the hearing while being pressed about money going to those who beat police officers defending the U.S. Capitol.
Patel also distanced himself from Trump over the pardoning of January 6 rioters, saying he disagrees with commuting sentences for those ‘committed violence’ against law enforcement.
Republicans have largely pushed back on Democrats’ accusations with Trump allies in Congress praising Patel as the right man for the job.
Ahead of the vote, Senator Chuck Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, vehemently defending Patel’s nomination and called for him to be confirmed.
‘Mr. Patel’s career shows that he’s a man who’ll fight to defend the Constitution and fight to expose corruption. This is exactly the kind of experience the FBI Director needs,’ Grassley said on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday.
He argued Democrats allegations are ‘unfounded’ and argued the FBI has been ‘unaccountable’ for too long.
Grassley said if confirmed, Patel’s ‘leadership will not be business as usual at the FBI.’
But Democrats on Thursday morning continued to sound the alarm on Patel as a ‘dangerous nomination.’
The group of senators gathered outside the FBI headquarters in Washington, DC where they raised concerns that Patel lied to them and blasted his fitness to lead.
‘I’m convinced he has neither the experience, the judgement or the temperament to lead the FBI,’ said Durbin.
He accused his Republican colleagues of ignoring red flags including Patel’s ‘reoccurring instinct to threaten retribution against his perceived enemies.’
‘This is an extremely dangerous flaw for someone who seeks to lead the nation’s most powerful domestic investigative agency for the next ten years,’ Durbin said.
Democrats accused Patel of trying to revise history on the attack on January 6 and said he would make the country less safe.
Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) called Patel a ‘a crown jewel in Trump’s lawless rampage’ and an ‘instrument’ in Trump’s effort to destroy the Justice Department and FBI.
Patel started his career as a public defender. He later worked as a prosecutor in the Justice Department before serving as a senior aide to the House Intelligence Committee under then-chair Congressman Devin Nunes.
He also worked as a staffer to the National Security Council during Trump’s first term, in the office of the Director of National Intelligence and as chief of staff to the acting defense secretary.