Kash Patel Confirmed as FBI Director

Matthew Willar

News Editor

The Senate Republican Conference gave President Donald Trump another victory last month, confirming federal prosecutor Kash Patel to be the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). A partisan vote that saw two Republican Senators voting in opposition, Patel joins a list of Trump nominees with a slew of controversy surrounding their appointments.

A non-cabinet position that is given a 10-year term, the FBI Director is typically a non-partisan individual who works closely with the United States Attorney General. The previous six directors were confirmed with minimal opposition, the most recent of which was Christopher Wray, who the Senate confirmed in a 92-5 vote in 2017.

Wray, who served as the Director for the remainder of Trump’s first term and the entire presidency of former President Joe Biden, is a registered Republican who has spoken against Trump following the events of the 2020 presidential election. He called Jan. 6, 2021, an act of domestic terrorism, and called Russia the biggest threat to Ukraine of interfering in the 2020 election, according to ABC News. These statements led to Trump’s indication that after he won the 2024 election, he would fire Wray and replace him with Patel. Wray resigned at the end of Biden’s term, despite having three years left in his 10-year term.

Throughout his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump continued to spew false claims of “political witch hunts” by the FBI and the Biden administration. He continued to call for “political retribution,” promised a complete reform of the agency, and expressed his concern that Wray would be unable to do his bidding. This ultimately led to the nomination of Patel, who is one of Trump’s biggest allies.

Patel previously served in Trump’s first administration in three different positions: The Principal Director of National Intelligence, the Chief of Staff to the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and then, the Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. After Trump’s tumultuous exit from the White House in 2021, Patel began spreading conspiracy theories regarding Jan. 6, 2021, the COVID-19 vaccinations, Q’Anon, and political retribution, according to USA Today.

In a 2023 podcast interview with Steve Bannon, Patel said, “We’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections,” adding, “Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out,” according to NBC News. Patel has since clarified his comments saying that he would only target journalists who broke the law.

The Senate confirmed Patel on Feb. 20 in a 51-49 vote. All Democrats voted in opposition to his nomination, joined by two Republicans, Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, according to the New York Times. He was sworn into his new position the following day by Attorney General Pam Bondi, becoming the first Indian American and the first Hindu American to serve in the role, according to USA Today.