The Senate confirmed Kash Patel Thursday to be the next director of the FBI, setting in motion President Donald Trump’s plans to overhaul the agency after years of scandal tarnished its reputation.
Patel was confirmed 51 to 49, with GOP Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining Democrats in opposing the confirmation. Senator Mitch McConnell, who cast the lone Republican vote against several of Trump’s other cabinet nominees, voted to confirm Patel.
The Senate voted 51-47 earlier Thursday to break the filibuster on Patel’s nomination, setting the stage for the confirmation vote. Patel’s confirmation took place during a tumultuous time for the Justice Department, as several top prosecutors resigned over the Trump administration’s directive to end the federal corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D).
A close ally of President Trump, Patel has promised to return the FBI to its law enforcement mission and restore public trust in an agency that has been caught up in scandal since President Trump’s first term. At his confirmation hearing, Patel emphasized the need for the FBI to focus on combating terrorism and violent crime, rather than pursuing politicized investigations, in order to restore public trust.
The FBI’s scandals include the Crossfire Hurricane investigation of false claims that Trump colluded with the Russians in 2016 and the abuse of FISA surveillance against former Trump advisor Carter Page. The FBI also pressured social media companies into censoring the Hunter Biden laptop story ahead of the 2020 presidential election, despite knowing that Biden’s laptop was authentic for almost a year ahead of time.
In August 2022, the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s classified documents case against Trump. Under President Biden, the FBI targeted parents who expressed dissatisfaction at school board meetings and FBI offices circulated a memo likening traditionalist Catholics to domestic terrorists. Patel has promised to fully comply with congressional oversight investigations into those scandals if confirmed.
As a congressional staffer, Patel played a pivotal role in exposing the FBI’s misconduct during the Crossfire Hurricane investigation. He later held senior roles in the first Trump administration’s Department of Defense, National Security Council, and Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Before that, Patel was a terrorism prosecutor in the Obama Justice Department and spent nearly a decade working as a public defender. After Trump lost in 2020, Patel became a prominent MAGA commentator and launched various business ventures.
Last week, Patel made it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party line vote after Democrats on delayed his nomination a week by invoking committee rules. Democrats strongly opposed Patel primarily because of conspiratorial statements in his book, Government Gangsters, and his association with a choir of January 6th defendants who attempted to raise money through music. Democrats are also concerned that Patel could pursue political retribution against them, an idea he shot down during his confirmation hearing.
Patel’s business dealings have also drawn scrutiny for his ties to foreign clients and potential conflicts of interest. He holds at least $1 million of stock in the parent company of Shein, a Chinese fashion company, as compensation for consulting work. The FBI is allowing Patel to retain his shares in the company because of the small chance his work overlaps with it, the Wall Street Journal reported. Patel has agreed to sell the stock he owns in publicly traded companies if confirmed.
Senator Dick Durbin (D., Ill.), ranking member of the committee, has accused Patel of falsely claiming at the hearing that he was not involved with the FBI’s efforts to fire senior officials. Durbin said that whistleblowers came forward with evidence showing Patel was directing the dismissals and called for the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate the matter.
Trump’s acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove has also demanded the names of FBI agents who worked on Capitol riot investigations to review their conduct, leading to fears that a purge could be in order.