The U.S. Senate confirmed Kash Patel as FBI director on Thursday, putting him at the helm of the federal law enforcement agency despite Democratic lawmakers’ doubts about his qualifications.
“I can’t imagine a worse choice,” Democratic lawmaker Dick Durbin said before the 51-49 vote in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the only Republicans to vote against President Trump’s nominee to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
A staunch supporter of Republican Trump, Patel has been a fierce critic of the agency he will lead. The Justice Department has removed a group of senior FBI officials and made an unusual request for the names of all employees who investigated the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.
Mr. Patel has expressed his intention to make radical changes at the FBI, reducing the number of employees at the agency’s headquarters and returning it to its traditional mission of fighting crime rather than the intelligence gathering and national security issues that have defined its mandate for the past two decades.
Mr. Patel has echoed President Trump’s desire for revenge. Before he was nominated, he said he would “go after conspirators” against Trump in the federal government and in the media, which raised alarm among Democrats.
For years, Republicans have expressed their anger at law enforcement agencies, accusing them of bias against conservatives during the Biden administration and of investigations into Republican Trump. Republicans secured Mr. Patel’s confirmation by saying he is the right person for the job.
“Mr. Patel wants to make the FBI accountable once again. "Regain the FBI's historically strong reputation for law enforcement," said Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, before Patel's confirmation. The
FBI director has a 10-year term, a way to insulate himself from political influence so that he doesn't become beholden to a particular president or administration. President Trump nominated Patel in November to replace Christopher Wray, who was appointed by President Trump in 2017 and served as director for more than seven years. He resigned before Trump took office. VOA (A2 Televizion)
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