The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted along party lines to approve Kash Patel's nomination to lead the FBI and send it to a vote of the full Senate. Patel moved on to the Senate floor with a vote of 12-10.
This comes after the ranking Democrat on the committee, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, accused Patel of orchestrating a purge of the agents at the FBI.
Durbin said he had “highly credible information” that Patel had given orders to remove senior staff even as he had no power to do so as he’s yet to be confirmed. This would contradict the testimony he gave at his confirmation hearing.
The Illinois Democrat said the alleged actions were “beyond the pale” and called for an investigation. The allegations were outlined in a letter from Durbin to Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department inspector general. The letter, first reported by The New York Times, alleged that Patel may have perjured himself during the hearing.
“Although Mr Patel is President Trump’s nominee to be FBI Director, he is still a private citizen with no role in government,” said Durbin. “It is unacceptable for a nominee with no current role in government, much less at the FBI, to personally direct unjustified and potentially illegal adverse employment actions against senior career FBI leadership and other dedicated, nonpartisan law enforcement officers.”
Durbin claimed that Patel’s orders were enforced by Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, as well as the acting attorney general, Emil Bove, and an advisory team for the FBI director.
A vote of the full senate on Patel’s nomination is expected in the coming weeks. He’s set to take charge of the nation’s top law enforcement agency in the middle of a substantial leadership change, which Durbin accused him of orchestrating from outside government.
If he’s ultimately confirmed to the post, he will be a top leader in Trump’s efforts to remove those seen as disloyal to him from the government ranks.
Senate Judiciary Committee chair Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said in his opening statement that Patel has “been subjected to relentless attacks on his character,” according to Politico.
“The FBI has fallen into really old habits and is long overdue for massive reform. Mr. Patel is the man to do it, and that’s why he’s being attacked so viciously right now,” he claimed.
Trump nominated Patel to lead the FBI before former Director Christopher Wray, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, had completed his term of 10 years at the post. Both Trump and his allies have argued that Wray turned the agency against the president, specifically following the 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago club during the investigation of his alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Patel has made statements in the past indicating that he would go along with Trump’s wishes to target his perceived enemies.
“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 during a podcast appearance alongside Steve Bannon.
Grassley denied a request from Democrats to question Patel in a second public hearing, with the chair saying that he would “not facilitate a campaign to undermine the results of the election by delaying the consideration of nominees who promise to execute the policies that President Trump ran on and for which the American people elected him.”
Patel previously worked to undermine the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. During the first Trump administration, he worked as chief of staff at the Defense Department, and he was also a National Security Council official.
“He is already actively undermining the bureau he seeks to lead,” Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons said, according to Politico. “I see in Mr. Patel an alarming willingness to do the bidding of a vengeful White House.”
