The US Senate votes to confirm former federal prosecutor Kash Patel as the next director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), continuing its successive streak for President Donald Trump’s government candidate.
However, Thursday’s confirmation was brought about by a small margin. The all-Republican senator voted in favor of Patel in the 100-seat Senate.
There were two prominent asylums from the Republican Party. Lisa Murkovsky of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. They joined 47 Democrats against what critics called a dangerous nomination to lead the FBI.
“Patel’s records show that he is dangerous, inexperienced and dishonest,” said Democrat Sen. Dark Durbin, of Illinois. “He should not serve as an effective FBI director, and cannot serve.”
On his part, in a social media post, Patel thanked Trump and said he was honored to be confirmed.
“The politicization of our judicial system has eroded public trust, but that’s over today,” writes Patel. “My mission as a supervisor is clear. Let’s make a good cop an officer. And we’ll rebuild the trust of the FBI.”
But right up to the vote, a parade of Democrats, including Durbin, took the Senate floor to warn Patel’s confirmation, saying they would actually politicize the FBI.
They questioned their ability to lead the FBI fairly, given past statements suggesting they might use the bureau’s resources to chase Trump’s political rivals and journalists.
“It’s shocking that my Republican colleagues are willing to support him despite the serious threat he poses to our national security,” Durbin said.
“I’m sorry, but I think they’ll soon regret this vote. When I consider giving this guy a ten-year term as director of the world’s leading criminal investigative agencies, I make a worse choice. I can’t imagine it.”
A narrow check
These concerns were reflected in the historically harsh margins that Patel confirmed passed. His FBI predecessor was approved with overwhelmingly bipartisan support.
Former FBI director Christopher Ray received confirmation in 2017 with 92 votes. Before him, in 2013, James Comey supported 93 votes. And for Robert Mueller in 2001, the vote was unanimous, zero from 98.
Still, with a majority of 53 solid Republicans in the Senate, none of the Trump candidates are expected to be short on confirmation votes.
Even Mitch McConnell of Kentucky lost to Republicans and peers over confirmations of Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — even threw his support behind Patel on Thursday.
However, in separate statements, Collins and Markowski explained that they could not vote for Patel for fear that they would use the FBI for political gain.
“My reservation with Patel is attributed to his own previous political activities and how it affects his leadership,” writes Markovsky. “The FBI must be trusted as a federal agency that drives crime and corruption that does not focus on solving political scores.”
Collins reflected that sentiment, saying that Patel’s “aggressive political activity” poses questioning his ability to lead nonpartisan departments.
“Mr. Patel’s recent political profile undermines his ability to serve the non-political role of the FBI director,” Collins explained in her statement.
This is not the first time Patel has destroyed a Republican under Trump’s leadership.
During Trump’s first term in office from 2017 to 2021, Patel served in a variety of roles, including the National Security Council and the Director of National Intelligence.
However, news reports have revealed that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Gina Haspel threatened to step down from the prospect of Trump naming Patel her as her agency.
In her memoir, Bill Barr, who served as attorney general in Trump’s first term, shot down a proposal to make Patel the FBI’s deputy director, saying it was “on my body.” It reminded me of.
Faced with criticism from the Senate
At a confirmation hearing in January, Patel defended himself from allegations that he would use the FBI to make Trump bids. He also denied doing anything illegal if confirmed as FBI director.
“I have no interest or desire, and if confirmed, I will not go behind. Patel has no politicization of the FBI,” Patel faced a heated question and told the Democratic senator. He spoke.
Patel also sketched his plan to increase the FBI’s law enforcement capabilities, including the distribution of larger resources across the 50 states.
“A third of the FBI’s workforce works in Washington, DC,” replied Patel. “I’m fully committed to going inside the country where that workforce lives, going west of Mississippi and working with the sheriff’s department and local officials.”
Patel, the son of an Indian immigrant who moved from Uganda to Canada and later to the US, condemned the attack on his character as “false accusations and grotesque mischaracteristics.”
However, he has repeatedly faced his own words from multiple appearances in podcasts and books he wrote.
For example, Patel spread the conspiracy theory that the FBI planned an attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, as a “fake flag” operation to hunt down Trump supporters. .
In an interview with Shawn Ryan Shaw in September, Patel also threatened to “shut down” the FBI headquarters in Washington, DC, and turned it into a “Deep State Museum.”
And speaking with Trump’s ally Steve Bannon in 2023, Patel pledged to chase after the president’s political rival. He also repeated the false claims that Trump’s election defeat in 2020 was fraudulent to his defeat against Joe Biden.
“We’ll go out and find co-conspirators not just in the government but also in the media,” Patel said. “We’re going to come after the media people who lied about the American citizens who helped Joe Biden Rig vote.”
Patel wrote a book by King, “The King’s book, “The King, depicting Trump as a monarch wrapped in a style antagonist after his democratic rivals in the presidential race in 2016 and 2024, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, respectively. He wrote a plot against the king who each portrayed “The Plot.”
And Democrats accused him of their relationship with the “J6 Choir,” consisting of defendants arrested after the 2021 attack on the Capitol.
Democrats urge “no” votes
Minutes before the Senate voted to confirm Patel, California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla characterized Patel as using Trump as his “cash cow.”
Padilla also questioned whether Patel had law enforcement or intelligence reporting experience to compete in his job as FBI director.
“Kas Patel has demonstrated a dangerous lack of judgment, a lack of preparation and a lack of independence,” Padilla said. “He shows he is reluctant to put politics aside to protect the American people and support the Constitution, or he is not aside if it is confirmed that he is leading the FBI.”
Sen. Adam Schiff, another Democrat in California, repeated his colleagues. He expressed concern that the FBI will do its best under Patel’s leadership as part of Trump’s innovation to federal workers.
“In democracy, law enforcement is not serving the president, not to mention propaganda of itself as king. Law enforcement is serving the people,” Schiff said.
“I’m the opinion that the people the FBI should go to Manhunt are real criminals and not the enemy of the president that day. The FBI should not serve as Donald Trump’s army.”
Source link
