The Republican-controlled US Senate has confirmed Kash Patel as the new director of the FBI with a 51-49 vote, despite strong opposition from Democrats. Patel, a loyalist of former President Donald Trump, faced criticism for promoting conspiracy theories and defending Capitol rioters. Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski were the only Republicans to vote against him. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin warned Patel would misuse the FBI to target political opponents. Patel, previously a senior official in Trump’s administration, replaces Christopher Wray and aims to protect FBI employees against political retaliation amid ongoing turmoil within the agency.
Washington:
The US Senate, under Republican control, confirmed Kash Patel on Thursday as the director of the FBI, which is the nation’s leading law enforcement agency. Patel, a dedicated supporter of President Donald Trump, received a 51-49 vote despite intense and ultimately ineffective opposition from Democrats.
The voting primarily followed party lines, with the exception of two Republican senators, Susan Collins from Maine and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, who chose to vote against Patel’s confirmation to lead the 38,000-member Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Patel faced criticism from Democrats for promoting conspiracy theories, defending pro-Trump rioters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and pledging to eliminate members of a supposed “deep state” conspiring against the Republican president.
To date, the Senate has confirmed all of Trump’s cabinet nominations, reflecting his strong influence over the Republican Party.
Among those confirmations is Tulsi Gabbard, named the nation’s intelligence chief despite her previous support for nations like Russia and Syria, along with vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed as health secretary.
Democratic Senator Dick Durbin made efforts to block Patel’s nomination in a press conference held outside the FBI’s headquarters in downtown Washington, warning that Patel would create a “political and national security disaster” as the FBI director.
On the Senate floor, Durbin declared that Patel is “dangerously, politically extreme.”
“He has consistently declared his intention to use our nation’s key law enforcement agency to retaliate against his political foes,” he stated.
Patel, who obtained his law degree from Pace University and served as a federal prosecutor, is taking over from Christopher Wray, who was appointed FBI director by Trump during his initial term.
However, tensions arose between Wray and Trump, leading Wray to resign despite having three years left in his 10-year term following Trump’s victory in the November presidential election.
– ‘Enemies list’ –
The New York-born Patel, the son of Indian immigrants, held multiple high-ranking positions during Trump’s first administration, such as senior director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council and chief of staff to the acting defense secretary.
During Patel’s confirmation hearing last month, heated exchanges occurred as Democrats highlighted a list of 60 alleged “deep state” figures—critics of Trump—that he included in a 2022 book, which he suggested should be investigated or “otherwise reviled.”
Patel denied having an “enemies list,” telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that his focus was solely on holding lawbreakers accountable.
“All FBI employees will be safeguarded against political retaliation,” he assured.
The FBI has faced significant turmoil since Trump’s inauguration, with several agents being fired or demoted, particularly those involved in the investigations concerning Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and the mishandling of classified documents.
Nine FBI agents have filed lawsuits against the Justice Department to halt attempts to collect information on agents involved in the investigations into Trump and the Capitol riot by his supporters.
In their lawsuits, these agents claimed that the move to gather information on employees engaged in the investigations was a part of a “purge” orchestrated by Trump as “politically motivated retribution.”
On his first day in office, Trump pardoned over 1,500 of his supporters who participated in the storming of Congress to obstruct the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s election win.
(Aside from the headline, this article has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)