President Donald Trump's FBI director nominee, Kash Patel, has pushed back against allegations that he played a role in the firings of bureau personnel. Patel dismissed accusations from the panel's top Democrat as a politically motivated effort to derail his confirmation.
A senior transition team official for Patel refuted the allegations made by the ranking Senate Judiciary Committee Democrat, Dick Durbin, stating that Patel had left Washington the night of his confirmation hearing to fly home to Las Vegas.
The official also denied that Patel had any involvement in the firings of bureau personnel, as alleged by Durbin. They emphasized that Patel has been going through the confirmation process transparently and that any insinuation otherwise is false.
In response to Durbin's claims of Patel orchestrating a purge of FBI employees, Patel's team provided evidence of his activities, including time spent hunting away from Washington.
Despite Durbin's team citing whistleblower reports and requesting an investigation by the Justice Department's inspector general, Patel maintains that he has acted above board and is committed to protecting FBI employees against political retribution.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have sought to discredit Patel's confirmation, delaying his committee vote by a week. Durbin expressed the intention to raise public awareness about Patel's actions in hopes of garnering opposition from some Republicans in the chamber.
Lawmakers noted that they can only delay Patel's committee vote for a week and that the final decision rests with Republicans.
