FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly privately agreed with an FBI agent advocacy group to install an active Special Agent to serve as deputy director – only to have President Donald Trump choose an inexperienced and controversial loyalist.
Members of the FBI Agents Association, a nonprofit that supports and advocates for more than 14,000 active and retired agents, received a memo, obtained by NBC News, that claimed Patel had agreed with the group that, “the FBI Deputy Director should continue to be an on-board, active Special Agent— as has been the case for 117 years for many compelling reasons, including operational expertise and experience, as well as the trust of our Special Agent population.”
Patel, who was sworn in as head of the federal law enforcement agency last week, is a known Trump loyalist who has no prior experience in the FBI.
His agreement with the FBI Agents Association was seemingly a way to balance his lack of experience with a current Special Agent.
But instead, Trump appointed Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and right-wing podcaster who has previously critcized FBI leadership and often uses derogatory language to describe liberals.
Bongino, who has no experience in the FBI, left the Secret Service in 2011 and has since become a loud advocate for Trump. He echoed Trump’s false claims of election fraud after the 2020 presidential election.
Like Patel, Bongino has claimed the FBI has become weaponized and needs to be fixed from the inside out. Bongino has argued the bureau focuses too much on domestic intelligence gathering, despite its purpose being domestic matters.
Now, Patel and Bongino will lead the FBI at a crucial time for the bureau undergoing massive changes. So far, at least six senior FBI officials have been ousted as well as dozens of heads of FBI field offices.
Previous deputy directors have all been active special agents upon designation to deputy director.
That includes Andrew McCabe who served under Trump’s first administration, David Bowdich and Paul Abbate who served under former president Joe Biden and the current acting deputy Robert Kissane.
The Independent has asked the FBI Agents Association for comment.
FBIAA did not immediately release a statement about Bongino’s appointment but previously congratulated Patel on his confirmation as director.
“As the new leadership team considers and implements reform measures, the FBIAA stands ready to serve as a valuable resource, ensuring that Special Agents can continue safeguarding the American people from emerging threats while upholding the Constitution,” FBIAA said in a statement about Patel.
