Kashyap “Kash” Patel was confirmed as the new FBI director by the Senate on Thursday, in a vote that largely followed party lines.
The Senate voted 51-49 in favor of Patel, securing his position as the head of the nation’s primary federal law enforcement agency.
Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, both prominent Republicans, voted against his confirmation.
Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader, who announced Thursday he will , supported Patel’s nomination. This was unexpected, as McConnell had previously opposed Trump’s nominations of Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary, Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for head of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Patel’s confirmation means he will succeed Christopher Wray, who resigned before Trump, who originally appointed him in 2017, left office. Wray, whose term was to end in three years, stepped down after the President suggested firing him, likely due to his dissatisfaction with the FBI’s investigation into a possible plan to overturn the 2020 election.
During Thursday’s hearing, Patel stated that countering terrorism and Chinese Communist Party espionage would be the greatest threat to the U.S.
Patel is a known Trump loyalist and has been critical of the agency he will now oversee. In his 2023 book, Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy, Patel identified individuals he considered part of the “deep state,” including former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and former National Security Advisor John Bolton, among others.
Patel attempted to retract this view during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in January, claiming that 98% of FBI agents are “courageous apolitical warriors for justice” and denying that he to grant clemency to Jan. 6 defendants.
However, during Thursday’s hearing, Patel initially hesitated to acknowledge President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election when questioned by Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont. He has also faced criticism for suggesting he would close the FBI Hoover Building and transform it into a “museum of the deep state.”
Patel’s confirmation is not unexpected. Republicans have largely supported Patel and most of Trump’s nominees, advocating for reform of the agency, which they believe has a “two-tier” justice system, as stated by Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn during Thursday’s hearing.
Meanwhile, many Democrats have described Patel as an unqualified choice, with some fearing he will engage in politically motivated targeting of those who disagree with Trump. “Kash Patel is an extreme MAGA loyalist who would make our country less safe,” said Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in a January . “He is blindly loyal to Donald Trump and Donald Trump only. He has a trail of grievances and history of lashing out at those who don’t agree with him. That’s not the kind of nonpartisan, law enforcement professional who should lead the FBI.”
As FBI director, Patel will oversee 55 field offices with more than 37,000 employees.
