Former national security adviser John Bolton has made a strong statement calling for the Senate to reject President-elect Trump's nomination of Kash Patel for FBI director. Bolton compared the move to Josef Stalin's reign of terror, referencing Lavrentiy Beria, the head of the Soviet secret police under Stalin known for widespread surveillance, repression, and terror.
Bolton emphasized the importance of the Senate rejecting Patel's nomination, stating that 'Trump has nominated Kash Patel to be his Lavrenty Beria' and urging a 100-0 rejection. Patel, a former senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council during the first Trump administration, is seen as a Trump loyalist who may implement drastic reforms within the FBI if confirmed.
The nomination of an outsider like Patel to lead the FBI has caused shockwaves in Washington. Trump praised Patel as a 'brilliant lawyer, investigator, and 'America First' fighter.' Patel himself has expressed intentions to shut down the FBI Hoover Building and reopen it as a museum of the deep state, as well as authoring a book titled 'Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy.'
Notably, this is not the first time Bolton has criticized a Trump pick. He previously condemned the now-withdrawn nomination of Matt Gaetz for U.S. attorney general, calling it 'the worst nomination for a Cabinet position in American history' and urging the Senate's new leadership to insist on its withdrawal to avoid endangering Republican senators.
