President-elect Donald Trump (Trump) nominated his ally Kash Patel to be the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Saturday (November 30), taking charge of the United States’ premier law enforcement agency.
The FBI is responsible not only for investigating violations of federal law but also for protecting the country against threats such as terrorist attacks, foreign espionage, and other dangers.
Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, that “I am proud to announce that Kash Patel will be the next director of the FBI,” praising him as “an outstanding lawyer, investigator, and fighter for ‘America First,’ dedicating his life to exposing corruption, defending justice, and protecting the American people.”
In the post, Trump applauded Patel for playing a key role in exposing the “Russia hoax” and being an advocate for truth, accountability, and the Constitution.
Patel will be replacing Christopher Wray, who was appointed by Trump in 2017 and is now set to be dismissed, with a tenure of 10 years.
For a long time, Trump has openly criticized Wray and the FBI. The FBI conducted searches at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to seek classified documents and conducted two investigations that led to Trump being indicted.
It is expected that Trump will undertake a thorough reform of the FBI.
Patel has advocated for a significant downsizing of the FBI and even suggested closing the agency’s headquarters in Washington, proposing to reopen it as a “Deep State Museum” on his second day in office.
Patel has stated his commitment to holding government officials who leak classified information to journalists accountable.
During an interview with former Trump chief strategist and senior advisor Steve Bannon, Patel expressed his determination to seek out those who fabricate conspiracies, saying, “We will come for you, not just criminally, but civilly, we will get to the bottom of it, yes, we are putting everyone on notice.”
Patel, born to Indian immigrant parents, has served as a public defender and was a prosecutor at the Department of Justice for many years before working as a staff member for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
The committee’s then-chairman, Devin Nunes, a staunch ally of Trump and Republican representative from California, assigned Patel to lead the committee’s investigation into the so-called “Russian interference in the 2016 election.” Patel ultimately assisted in drafting the renowned “Nunes Memo,” a four-page report detailing errors made by the Justice Department in obtaining authorization to surveil Trump’s former campaign team. However, the release of the memo faced strong opposition from Wray and the Justice Department, cautioning that disclosing sensitive information was reckless.
The “Russia hoax” investigation by the Justice Department left Patel suspicious of the FBI, the intelligence community, and the media, condemning the latter as the “greatest enemy in U.S. history.” He seized on the FBI’s mistakes with the use of surveillance programs, accusing the agency of “weaponizing” its surveillance authority against innocent Americans.
Patel’s achievements led to him being appointed as the National Security Council’s Senior Director for Counterterrorism Affairs in Trump’s first term, and later serving as the chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller.
Even after Trump left office, Patel continued to serve as a loyal deputy to Trump, accompanying the former president to court during his criminal trial in New York and declaring to reporters that Trump was a victim of a “constitutional circus.”
(This article references reports by PBS)