President-elect Donald Trump publicizes his nomination for new FBI director
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On Saturday, Nov. 30, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he intends to nominate Kashyap “Kash” Patel as the new Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) director.
On Saturday, Nov. 30, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he intends to nominate Kashyap “Kash” Patel as the new Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) director. This nomination appeared to cause commotion among Washington officials, Democratic party members, and former Trump officials.
In 2017, Trump met Patel when he was a staffer on the House Intelligence Committee for then-Representative Devin Nunes. Then, at the end of Trump’s first term, Patel briefly served in Trump’s White House National Security Council and as chief of staff to Defense Secretary Chris Miller. While Patel has worked for Trump before, this nomination pick has caused much controversy. According to CBS News, a former US official described him as “by far the most dangerous pick Trump has made.”
Additional officials such as John Bolton, who served as the national security adviser in Trump’s first term as Patel’s boss, spoke out about the nomination and compared it to “Joseph Stalin's secret police chief,” per CBS News. Bolton stated that the Senate should “reject this nomination 100-0."
Yet, because current FBI director Christopher Wray’s 10-year term does not end until 2027, Wray would have to either resign or be fired by Trump for Patel to become the new director. It is currently unsure what Trump’s next steps are with Patel’s nomination and Wray’s employment as FBI director.
In a social media post on Saturday, Trump stated that Patel is “a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and 'America First' fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People.” Some individuals, such as Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, agreed with Trump and stated that Patel is a “very strong nominee.” Cruz also believes that the Senate will approve Patel.
On the other hand, Democrats appeared to be very critical of the pick. When interviewing with NBC, Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said that Patel “is going to only care about protecting Republicans." Murphy continued with, per CBS News, “Kash Patel's only qualification is because he agrees with Donald Trump that the Department of Justice should serve to punish, lock up, and intimidate Donald Trump's political opponents. And so the cost to the American public is pretty simple.”
In a recent statement, shortly after being nominated, Patel spoke of how it feels to have been nominated by Trump. According to NBC News, he stated, "It is the honor of a lifetime to be nominated by President Trump to serve as Director of the FBI.” He continued, “Together, we will restore integrity, accountability, and equal justice to our justice system and return the FBI to its rightful mission: protecting the American people."
Trump's desire for Patel to be FBI director is not a new idea. In the closing months of Trump’s first term, he proposed that Patel should direct the FBI. William Barr, the attorney general at the time, rejected this proposal and stated later in his memoir that “Patel had virtually no experience that would qualify him to serve at the highest level of the world's preeminent law enforcement agency,"
Certainly, numerous steps and approvals are needed before Patel becomes FBI director, and it is unsure what Trump’s next steps could be to attempt to ensure Patel the position.