President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Kash Patel to serve as FBI director, turning to a fierce ally to upend America's premier law enforcement agency
FILE - Kash Patel, former chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, speaks at a rally in Minden, Nev., Oct. 8, 2022.
Patel's nomination sets up what's likely to be an explosive confirmation battle in the Senate not long after Trump's first pick to lead the Justice Department, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his nomination amid intense scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations. Patel would replace Christopher Wray, who was appointed by Trump in 2017 but quickly fell out of favor with the president and his allies. FBI directors have 10-year terms that are meant to inoculate them from political influence.
Patel's past proposals, if carried out, would lead to convulsive change for an agency tasked not only with investigating violations of federal law but also protecting the country from terrorist attacks, foreign espionage and other threats. "We're going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections," Patel said, referring to the 2020 presidential election in which Biden, the Democratic challenger, defeated Trump. "We're going to come after you, whether it's criminally or civilly. We'll figure that out. But yeah, we're putting you all on notice.
A subsequent inspector general report identified significant problems with FBI surveillance during the Russia investigation, but also found no evidence that the FBI had acted with partisan motives in conducting the probe and said there had been a legitimate basis to open the inquiry.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
President-elect Trump Names Kash Patel as FBI DirectorPresident-elect Donald Trump has chosen Kashyap 'Kash' Patel, a fierce critic of the FBI and long-time ally, to serve as the bureau's next director. Patel, known for his role in uncovering FBI surveillance of the Trump campaign, is set to implement Trump’s desired reforms within the agency.
Read more »
President-Elect Donald Trump Announces Kash Patel as Nominee for FBI DirectorSource of breaking news and analysis, insightful commentary and original reporting, curated and written specifically for the new generation of independent and conservative thinkers.
Read more »
Trump picks longtime ally Kash Patel to replace current FBI directorThe president-elect plans to replace current FBI Director Christopher Wray with Patel, a close ally of the president-elect and former national security aide, has berated the Justice Department and the news media.
Read more »
Trump picks longtime ally Kash Patel to replace current FBI directorThe president-elect plans to replace current FBI Director Christopher Wray with Patel, a close ally of the president-elect and former national security aide, has berated the Justice Department and the news media.
Read more »
Trump says he will replace FBI Director Wray with loyalist Kash PatelTrump picked Christopher Wray to lead the FBI in 2017, then soured on him before leaving office. Trump would have to fire Wray — or Wray would have to resign — for Patel to take over the bureau.
Read more »
Trump announces he intends to replace current FBI director with loyalist Kash PatelPresident-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he intends to nominate Kash Patel to serve as FBI director, in an extraordinary announcement that once in office Trump would move to replace the current director, Christopher Wray, before his term expires.
Read more »