The Senate on Thursday confirmed Kash Patel as FBI director, handing President Trump’s outspoken nominee a green light to overhaul the bureau that conservatives say had been weaponized against them.
Mr. Patel got across the finish line in a 51-49 vote, with Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining Democrats in the “no” column. The FBI director’s term is 10 years.
“Kash Patel will refocus the FBI on its core mission of fighting crime. He will reshape the Bureau so it is no longer a tool for political attacks. He will rededicate the Bureau to keeping Americans safe,” said Sen. John Barrasso, Wyoming Republican.
Mr. Patel, a former prosecutor, has worked in the Defense Department and as an advisor to the White House National Security Council. He also served as a senior counsel to House Republicans investigating the FBI’s Trump-Russia collusion probe.
He is viewed by Mr. Trump and Senate Republicans as a “change agent” who will overhaul an FBI that has drifted from its core mission and become politicized against conservatives.
“FBI’s core mission is to protect the American people, but the majority of Americans have lost faith in the FBI these last few years,” The Senate Republican Conference said in a recent statement.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, said his oversight work has revealed that “the FBI has been infected by politicalization and this storied agency has been weaponized against political opponents.”
He called Mr. Patel “the right man at the right time [who’s] career has been a study in fighting for unpopular but righteous causes, exposing corruption and putting America first.”
Democrats, though, have excoriated Mr. Patel, saying he has neither the experience, judgment nor temperament to lead the FBI.
Democratic lawmakers were dissatisfied with some of Mr. Patel’s responses at his confirmation hearing about his involvement with the so-called “J6 choir,” whether he would launch political retribution on behalf of Mr. Trump or if he had any knowledge of future firings at the bureau.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Democrat, said Mr. Patel is “a sycophantic suck-up when it comes to Donald Trump” who wrote children’s books in which “King Donald rules, and his loyal little functionary, Kash, brings justice to him.”
“Really?” Mr. Whitehouse said.
The FBI Agents Association, whose membership includes 14,000 current and former special agents, congratulated Mr. Patel and said it looks forward to working with him.
“As the new leadership team considers and implements reform measures, the FBIAA stands ready to serve as a valuable resource, ensuring that Special Agents can continue safeguarding the American people from emerging threats while upholding the Constitution,” association President Natalie Bara said.
Mr. Patel was among the most polarizing of Mr. Trump’s nominees.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth required a tie-breaking vote from Vice President J.D. Vance after some GOP senators questioned his past behavior and experience, and confirmations of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, required some lobbying and arm-twisting.
Ms. Collins said she voted “no” because the FBI needed an apolitical director. She pointed to reported efforts to root out FBI officials who worked on certain investigations, and the resignations of Department of Justice prosecutors who said they felt pressured to act unethically.
“While I strongly support efforts to ensure all federal employees perform their responsibilities ethically and in accordance with the law, Mr. Patel’s recent political profile undermines his ability to serve in the apolitical role of director of the FBI,” she said before a pair of votes on the nomination.
Likewise, Ms. Murkowski pointed to Mr. Patel’s political activities.
“The FBI must be trusted as the federal agency that roots out crime and corruption, not focused on settling political scores,” she said. “I have been disappointed that when he had the opportunity to push back on the administration’s decision to force the FBI to provide a list of agents involved in the January 6 investigations and prosecutions, he failed to do so.”
Responding to accusations that he plans to turn the FBI into Mr. Trump’s weapon for political retribution, Mr. Patel insisted at his confirmation hearing that he wants to take politics out of the agency.
“There will be no politicization at the FBI,” he said at his confirmation hearing last month. “There will be no retributive action.”
Conservatives have long scrutinized the bureau over its leadership’s politicization which has led to scandals within the agency.
This includes the targeting of Catholics and parents at school board meetings, the suppression of news reports about the disturbing content discovered on Hunter Biden’s laptop computer before the 2020 election, and the raid on Mr. Trump’s home at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Most recently, the FBI has been criticized by senior Trump administration officials for leaking information about when and where ICE immigration raids would occur.
“The bureau’s reputation in recent years has been plagued by high-profile scandals that risk politicizing its critical work,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican and former Senate GOP leader. “Director Patel has committed to restoring Americans’ trust in the FBI, and I hope and expect he will move quickly to reset the bureau with greater transparency, accountability, and cooperation with the Congress.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.