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Kash Patel | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2025 | |
| 9th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation | |
| Assumed office February 21, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Dan Bongino Andrew Bailey Christopher Raia |
| Preceded by | Christopher A. Wray |
| Director of theBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives | |
| Acting February 24, 2025 – April 10, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Marvin G. Richardson (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Daniel P. Driscoll (acting) |
| Chief of Staff to theUnited States Secretary of Defense | |
| In office November 29, 2020 – January 20, 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Jennifer M. Stewart |
| Succeeded by | Kelly Magsamen |
| Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence | |
| In office February 20, 2020 – May 13, 2020 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Andrew P. Hallman |
| Succeeded by | Neil Wiley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kashyap Pramod Patel (1980-02-25)February 25, 1980 (age 45) Garden City, New York, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Domestic partner | Alexis Wilkins (2023–present) |
| Education | |
Patel speaks on issues includingillegal drug trade andthe assassination ofCharlie Kirk. Recorded September 16, 2025 | |
Kashyap Pramod Patel[a] (born February 25, 1980) is an American lawyer serving since 2025 as thedirector of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Patel also served as acting director of theBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from February to April 2025.
Patel studied criminal justice and history at theUniversity of Richmond and graduated from thePace University School of Law. In 2005, he began working as a public defender inMiami-Dade County, Florida, and later as a federal public defender for theSouthern District of Florida. Patel worked as a staff member at theDepartment of Justice from 2012 to 2017; he then left the department and became a senior aide toDevin Nunes, the chairman of theHouse Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Patel was the primary author of theNunes memo, alleging thatFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials abused their authority inthe FBI investigation intolinks between associates of Donald Trump and Russian officials.
In February 2019, Patel joined theNational Security Council's International Organizations and Alliances directorate. In 2020, he became theprincipal deputy director of national intelligence until May, when he returned to the National Security Council. In November, after PresidentDonald Trump dismissedMark Esper assecretary of defense, Patel was named as the chief of staff to acting secretary of defenseChristopher C. Miller.
After Trump left office in January 2021, Patel leveraged his association with Trump to promote several business ventures and made recurring appearances on several podcasts. In April 2022, he was named to the board ofTrump Media & Technology Group. Also that year, he published a children's book about theSteele dossier and, withJohn Solomon, was appointed to represent Trump before theNational Archives and Records Administration; the FBIquestioned Patel about his involvement in Trump's records. He founded The Kash Foundation, a charity to help participants in theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack pay legal costs. Democrats have accused Patel ofQAnon affiliation and promoting conspiracy theories about thedeep state, the2020 presidential election, and the January 6 Capitol attack.
Patel has been widely described as a Trump loyalist. He shares Trump's view that the FBI has been weaponized against conservatives. He has called for "major, major reform", citing the bureau'smisuse of its surveillance authority under the FISA andJames Comey's handling of theHillary Clinton email investigation.
On December 11, 2024, Christopher Wray announced that he would resign at the end ofJoe Biden's presidency on January 20, 2025. Patel appeared before theSenate Committee on the Judiciary in January 2025. He was confirmed by theSenate in February. Shortly thereafter, he was named as the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, but by April he was replaced. Patel is the first person of South Asian descent to serve as FBI director.
Kashyap Pramod Patel[1] was born on February 25, 1980,[2] inGarden City, New York.[3] He is the son of Pramod Rameshchandra Patel, aUgandan ofGujarati Indian descent who was among those who facedethnic persecution and wereexpelled by Ugandan dictatorIdi Amin in 1972.[2] The Patels were originally from the village ofBhadran in theAnand district ofGujarat, India. Chh Gam Patidar Mandal, an organization in Bhadran, has maintained avanshavali, or family tree of the Patel family for 18 generations. They briefly returned to India while seeking asylum in theUnited States, the UK, and Canada. They moved toCanada once their applications were accepted.[4] Subsequently, they moved to the US and Pramod started working as a chief financial officer for a global distributor of aircraft bearings.[5][4] Patel's household included Pramod's eight brothers and sisters.[6] He was raisedHindu.[5]
Patel attendedGarden City High School and his senior-year quote was "Racism is man's gravest threat—the maximum of hatred for a minimum reason", byJewish theologianRabbiAbraham Joshua Heschel.[5] During summers, Patel worked as acaddie at the Garden City Country Club.[6] According to his memoir,Government Gangsters (2023), although he was interested in medical school programs,[7] he was inspired by defense lawyers who golfed at the club.[6] Patel graduated from theUniversity of Richmond in 2002 with a degree in criminal justice and history. He earned a certificate in international law fromUniversity College London[8] and graduated from thePace University School of Law in 2005.[6] According to a questionnaire he sent to theSenate Committee on the Judiciary, Patel participated in theAmerican Bar Association's "Judicial Intern Opportunity Program", a diversity initiative, as a Pace student in 2003.[9]
Patel's professional career began in the Miami-Dade area.[5] He worked as a public defender inMiami-Dade County, Florida, handling violent crime and drug trafficking cases,[2] and later as a federal public defender for theSouthern District of Florida.[6] In 2012, he began working as a junior staff member at theDepartment of Justice. He coordinated with judges to get approvals for arrest warrants.[6] Patel served as a board member of the South Asian Bar Association of North America.[9]
Patel served temporarily as a representative for the Criminal Division on the case against the perpetrators of the2012 Benghazi attack, but he was removed over disagreements he had with the office leading the case, theU.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. Later, he claimed he had been the case's lead prosecutor. According toThe Atlantic, former colleagues said the U.S. Attorney's Office led the prosecution, not Patel.[5]
In his memoir, Patel wrote that he had been asked to join the trial team againstAhmed Abu Khattala, a militia leader in theLibyan civil war. According toThe New York Times, he was not offered that position.[10]
By 2013, Patel had been assigned to theNational Security Division as a prosecutor.[6] He concurrently served as a legal liaison for theJoint Special Operations Command.[11] In January 2014, Patel took a junior position in the Counterterrorism Division.[10] At a chambers meeting about the trial of Omar Faraj Saeed al-Hardan, a Palestinian born in Iraq charged with providing material support to theIslamic State, JudgeLynn Hughes berated Patel for his unprofessional attire and dismissed him from the chambers. Patel had flown from Tajikistan to Texas for the meeting, which Hughes called unnecessary.[12] He left the Department of Justice in 2017, later saying that the department's response to the2016 presidential election was the impetus for his departure.[2]
In April 2017, Patel began working for theHouse Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, then led by RepresentativeDevin Nunes.[5]The New York Times reported that Patel was the primary author of theNunes memo,[8] released in February 2018, which primarily alleged procedural failures in the FBI'sFISA warrant application for Trump campaign advisorCarter Page duringthe FBI's Russia investigation, including reliance on theSteele dossier.[13]
The memo's veracity was questioned, but after Inspector GeneralMichael E. Horowitz's December 2019 report identified 17 "significant errors or omissions" in the FBI's FISA applications,Lawfare assessed that the memo "turns out to have been correct on important points" regarding FISA errors, while noting that its underlying implication of political bias was not substantiated.[14] The memo boosted Patel's standing among Trump allies.[15]
As an aide to Nunes, Patel also investigated the theory that Ukrainians were promulgating information aboutRussian interference in the 2016 United States elections.[15]
After the commencement of the116th United States Congress, Patel served as senior counsel for theHouse Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.[11]
In February 2019, Patel joined theNational Security Council.[15] Trump's national security advisorJohn Bolton and his deputyCharles Kupperman assigned Patel to the International Organizations and Alliances directorate, which handles United Nations policy; according toThe Divider, Patel was a "must-hire, directed by the president."[16]
In April 2019, Patel shifted his work toUkraine. According to theTimes, Trump personally discussed documents involving Ukraine with Patel, although their communications were separate from those ofRudy Giuliani and Ambassador to theEuropean UnionGordon Sondland.[15] Telephone records detailed in the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence's December report on the impeachment inquiry revealed a 25-minute call between Giuliani and Patel in May.[17] In an interview withCBS News, Patel denied being part of any Ukraine back channel, saying the call with Giuliani was personal.[18]
In July 2019, Patel was appointed senior director of the counterterrorism directorate at theNational Security Council.[19]Fiona Hill, a senior director forEurope and Russia at the NSC, testified that a staffer erroneously implied Patel was the NSC director for Ukraine. Hill grew concerned that the president thought Patel was in charge of Ukraine policy and that Patel might have been sending materials to Trump without authorization. She reported these concerns to Kupperman[20] and warned her staff to be cautious about communicating with Patel.[21]
Alexander Vindman, the NSC director for Ukraine, testified that Hill told him not to attend a presidential debriefing following PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy's inauguration because Patel was being represented as the NSC director for Ukraine.[22] DiplomatsGordon Sondland andGeorge P. Kent testified they did not encounter Patel in the course of their Ukraine work.[23] Patel denied having discussed Ukraine with Trump.[24]
In February 2020, Patel become an advisor toRichard Grenell, the actingdirector of national intelligence.[25] AfterAndrew P. Hallman's resignation, Patel became the principal deputy director of national intelligence.[26] He was given a mandate to "clean house"[15] and promptly reduced the staffing of theOffice of the Director of National Intelligence.[27] Patel was involved in reviewing the office's staff.[28] He returned as senior director of the NSC counterterrorism directorate afterJohn Ratcliffe was confirmed asdirector of National Intelligence in May.[29]
In April 2020, Trump devised a plan to oust FBI directorChristopher A. Wray and appointWilliam Evanina to lead the bureau, while Patel would become deputy director. Attorney GeneralWilliam Barr halted the plan, threatening to resign.[30]
In August 2020, Patel andRoger D. Carstens, the special envoy for hostage affairs, traveled toDamascus to meet withAli Mamlouk, the director ofSyria'sNational Security Bureau.[31] In October,Bloomberg News reported that he had met with an unnamed Syrian official to discuss releasingAustin Tice, an American journalist who was captured in 2012, andMajd Kamalmaz, a Syrian-American therapist who disappeared in 2017.[32] In May 2024, U.S. national security officials told Kamalmaz's family that they had obtained intelligence indicating he had died in captivity.[33]
Patel was involved ina military operation to rescue Philip Walton fromNigeria. According to former Defense SecretaryMark Esper's memoir, Patel told Pentagon officials that Secretary of StateMike Pompeo had secured approval to enter Nigeria's airspace, but whenSEAL Team Six was already en route, Esper learned the clearance had not been obtained, and the aircraft circled for approximately an hour until permission was granted.[34][35] Esper wrote that his team "suspected Patel made the approval story up".[5] Patel denied wrongdoing, saying he "acted appropriately, relayed all information accurately and never jeopardized the safety of the hostages".[36]Anthony Tata, the Pentagon official who received the information from Patel, later defended him, saying Patel "relayed a message from the State Department to me, which he believed to be true".[37]
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In November 2020, Trump dismissed Esper, namingChristopher C. Miller as acting defense secretary. Patel was appointed Miller's chief of staff;[38] he had previously worked for Miller at theNational Security Council and was well-regarded by him.[39] An unnamed senior national security official toldVanity Fair that Miller was "the frontman" while Patel andEzra Cohen, the under secretary of defense for intelligence, were "calling all the shots".[40]
Patel oversaw theDepartment of Defense's transition efforts during thepresidential transition of Joe Biden;[41] On December 4,The Washington Post called Patel a "perceived Trump loyalist".[42] On December 5,NBC News reported he was blocking the transition.[43] The Department of Defense denied those reports, saying Patel had delegated transition responsibilities to a career civilian official.[44] According toThe New York Times, transition officials expressed distrust of Patel, viewing him as a Trump loyalist.[45]
Patel supported an internal proposal to separate theNational Security Agency fromUnited States Cyber Command.[46] According to documents provided to theHouse Select Committee on the January 6 Attack and officials' accounts, Patel discussed security at the Capitol before and during theJanuary 6 Capitol attack, and repeatedly contactedMark Meadows, Trump's chief of staff, on the day of the attack.[47]
In December 2020, Trump sought to appoint Patel as the deputy director of theCentral Intelligence Agency. In response, CIA directorGina Haspel threatened to resign.[48] At the annualArmy–Navy Game that month,chairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffMark Milley confrontedWhite House chief of staffMark Meadows, repeatedly and loudly asking whether Patel was going to replace Wray or Haspel.[49] In response to now disproven theories about Italian interference in the 2020 election, later dubbed "Italygate", Patel called acting deputy attorney generalRichard Donoghue to inquire. Miller separately contacted an attaché in Rome to request an investigation.[50]
In the final days of Trump's presidency,My Pillow founder and chief executiveMike Lindell went to theWhite House; Jabin Botsford, a photographer forThe Washington Post, captured a document Lindell was holding that read, "Move Kash Patel to CIA Acting".[51] In April 2022, Patel told an audience that he had advised Trump to fire seniorDepartment of Justice officials.[52]
In September 2021, Patel was subpoenaed by theHouse Select Committee on the January 6 Attack.[47] In addition, the committee requested that Patel submit to questioning.[53] One of Trump's attorneys instructed Patel to defy the subpoena,[53] but Patel decided to communicate with the committee.[54] The committee requested Patel's communications relating to "the establishment ofmartial law, requests to establish martial law, or legal analysis of martial law" and "all documents and communications relating to" the Insurrection Act as part of an examination into Trump's efforts to invoke theInsurrection Act of 1807 and declaremartial law tooverturn the2020 United States presidential election.[55]
In June 2022, Trump requested that theNational Archives and Records Administration grant Patel and journalistJohn Solomon access to administration records.[56] Their designations were revoked in October 2023.[57] After theFBI search of Mar-a-Lago, Patel claimed that Trump had declassified the seized documents,[58] and his argument was the focus of investigators.[59] As part of theFBI investigation into Trump's handling of government documents, federal prosecutors sought to have Patel testify before agrand jury. He appeared twice before a grand jury in October 2022, repeatedly pleading theFifth Amendment in his first appearance.[60] Prosecutors offered him immunity in November,[61] securing his testimony.[62] According toThe Washington Post, prosecutors asked about his claim that Trump had declassified the documents, as well as Trump's motivation for taking the documents.[63] Patel was represented byStanley Woodward.[64]
After Trump left office in 2021, Patel managed Trishul, a consulting company.[65] He founded The Kash Foundation, a nonprofit that intended to aid participants in theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack with legal costs; it also sells merchandise branded as K$H.[66] According to aTrump Media & Technology Group filing, Patel worked for Trump as a paid national security advisor.[67] Patel was listed as the director of Trump Media & Technology Group in April 2022.[68] As director, he described promotingQAnon-adjacent accounts onTruth Social, Trump Media's social media service, as an intentional business decision to "capture audiences".[69] In June 2022, Patel was paid $130,000 to investigate claims that the company's co-founders,Andy Dean and Wes Moss, had "fostered an unpredictable and toxic corporate culture". His report was later included in a legal dispute over Dean's and Moss's shares in the company.[67] Patel was also named toRussell Vought's Center for Renewing America.[52] For nine months in 2024, Patel was a consultant for Elite Depot, a company based in theCayman Islands that operatesShein, an e-commerce platform.[70]
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In March 2023, a report compiled byDemocrats on theHouse Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government detailed the testimony of two former FBI special agents, who said they had received financial support from Patel for promoting misinformation about theJanuary 6 Capitol attack, finding one agent a position with the Center for Renewing America and promoting his book.[71] Patel covered legal fees and paid witnesses who testified before the subcommittee, according toThe New York Times.[72] He co-produced "Justice for All", acharity record by Trump and a choir of men incarcerated in connection with the attack on the Capitol that was released that month.[73] Patel was a political consultant forSave America and Friends, which is led byMatt Gaetz.[74]
NPR described Patel as a "fixture on right-wing talk shows and podcasts", includingStew Peters's podcast.[75] From 2021 to 2023,[74] Patel was the host ofKash's Corner, a show on EpochTV, a streaming television service operated by theFalun Gong-affiliated newspaperThe Epoch Times.[76] He interviewed Trump onKash's Corner in February 2022.[77] AfterSteve Bannon, a former Trump advisor, surrendered to a federal prison in July 2024 for defying a subpoena from the Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, Patel served as a part-time guest host for Bannon's podcastWar Room.[78] In 2024,Igor Lopatonok, a Russian filmmaker associated with theRussian government, paid Patel $25,000 to appear on a six-part series,All the President's Men: The Conspiracy Against Trump, on theTucker Carlson Network.[79]
In November 2024, President-electDonald Trump intended to appoint Patel to a high-profile position in theFederal Bureau of Investigation or theDepartment of Justice.[80] Trump later planned to removeChristopher A. Wray as thedirector of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, interviewing several candidates for the position, including Patel and formerMichigan representativeMike Rogers.[81] Patel was considered as a potential nominee fordirector of the Central Intelligence Agency, although he faced a narrower path in theSenate.[82]Susie Wiles, Trump's campaign manager, believed Patel would be a risky choice to lead the bureau, butAndrew Bailey, theMissouri attorney general, appeared too lackadaisical in meetings.[83] On November 30, Trump announced that he would dismiss Wray and named Patel as his nominee for the position.[84] Wray agreed to resign in December.[85] Before his confirmation hearing, Patel began conducting policy-focused interviews for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[86] According toCNN, he was targeted in an Iranian hacking operation that month.[87] In January 2025, nearly two dozen formerRepublican government officials sent a letter to senators urging them to reject Patel's nomination.[88]
Patel appeared before theSenate Committee on the Judiciary on January 30. According toThe New York Times, he positioned himself as insulated from Trump, disagreeing with Trump's decision topardon January 6 Capitol attack defendants.[89] SenatorPeter Welch repeatedly asked Patel whetherJoe Biden won the2020 presidential election; Patel said that the election was "certified" but did not explicitly say that Biden won.[90] The Judiciary Committee voted to advance his nomination 12–10 along party lines on February 13.[91] In February,Dick Durbin, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, sent the Department of Justice's inspector general a letter accusing Patel of directing dismissals at the bureau that were based on "highly credible information from multiple sources". The allegations, if true, would implicateEmil Bove, the actingdeputy attorney general, as having conducted firings "solely at the behest of a private citizen" and would amount to potential perjury.[92] During his confirmation hearing, Patel was criticized for owning shares inShein's parent company,[70] a stock award he had received fromTrump Media & Technology Group,[93] and his work forQatar through Trishul.[65]
On February 20, Patel was confirmed by theSenate in a 51–49 vote. EveryRepublican senator exceptSusan Collins andLisa Murkowski voted to confirm him and everyDemocratic senator opposed his nomination.[94] Several colleagues of SenatorMitch McConnell expected him to oppose Patel's nomination, which would have required Vice PresidentJD Vance to cast atie-breaking vote.[95] Patel was sworn in the next day by Attorney GeneralPam Bondi. He took the oath on theBhagavad Gita, aHindu scripture,[96] held by his partner,[97]Alexis Wilkins.[98]
After being sworn in, Patel told officials that he intended to send 1,000 agents from Washington, D.C., to other field offices in cities with higher crime rates[96] and reassign 500 staff members to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.[99] According toThe Wall Street Journal, an official told Patel that the restructuring could cost $100 million that the agency did not have; he was undeterred.[96] Patel removed civil service executives and replaced them with political allies, according to theJournal.[96] In March,The New York Times obtained an internal email from Patel directing the majority of the bureau's field offices—except those in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles—to report to branch directors rather than the deputy director.[100] In a February call with FBI officials, Patel proposed altering the bureau's physical fitness test and partnering with Ultimate Fighting Championship, while saying he would shift his operations to Nevada, where he lives, and the West Coast.[101] He expressed interest in joining the bureau's hockey team.[101] In March, Trump said in a speech that Patel had plans to move the FBI headquarters to an "old Department of Commerce building", suggesting further reductions in staff.[102] In February, NBC News reported that Patel would be named the acting director of theBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives;[103] he was sworn in on February 24.[104] According toThe Washington Post, by March 2025 Patel was not at the bureau.[105] On April 9, Reuters reported that he had been replaced by Daniel P. Driscoll, the secretary of the army.[106] That month, Patel announced thatHannah Dugan, a Wisconsin circuit court judge, had been arrested for allegedly having "misdirected federal agents away from" an undocumented immigrant; Dugan was later convicted of felony obstruction[107] and resigned afterward.[108] Patel posted a photograph of Dugan's arrest that former attorney generalEric Holder told CNN violated internal DOJ policy.[109] By April,The New York Times described Patel as highly visible, particularly in his use of bureau aircraft.[97] In May, he advocated reducing the FBI's budget by $500 million, an abrupt departure from his request for "more than what [had] been proposed" the day before.[110] That month, he disbanded the Office of Internal Auditing, which was responsible for monitoring bureau compliance with national security surveillance regulations.[111] In July, Patel announced that the FBI would move into office space at theRonald Reagan Building and International Trade Center vacated by the closure of theUnited States Agency for International Development.[112] But Congress had previously appropriated $555 million for a new FBI headquarters and campus in Maryland. On December 26, Patel said that the original FBI headquarters building, theJ. Edgar Hoover Building, would be permanently closed.[113]
Patel's efforts to force senior executives to leave the bureau caused tensions; in particular, he intensified the use of polygraph tests to find leakers.[114] In August, Patel lowered recruitment standards, including removing the bachelor's degree requirement, to enable the bureau to focus more on street crime.[115] In September, he told staff, "Crushing violent crime and protecting national security are intertwined." While reducing crime, Patel's efforts delayed investigative work.[116]
Amid a resurgence of interest in theEpstein files, the set of documents the United States possesses on the sex offender and financierJeffrey Epstein; Deputy Attorney GeneralTodd Blanche said he worked on a memorandum with Patel andDan Bongino, whom Patel had named as his deputy director, that rejected many of the claims about Epstein's death. In a joint interview with Patel in May, Bongino toldMaria Bartiromo on Fox Business that Epstein had committed suicide.[117]
Commentators includingTucker Carlson,Alex Jones, andEmerald Robinson criticized the pair; Carlson said they were "making a huge mistake, promising to reveal things and then not revealing them" and Jones accused Patel of "gaslighting".[118] In July,The Wall Street Journal reported that Patel had privately told officials that Trump's name is in the Epstein files.[119] Patel had been critical of Bondi, though she said in a press conference that she had no issues working with him.[120] According toThe Washington Post, the conflict was over Bondi's handling of the investigation, with Patel and Bongino privately saying they would have released the files—with information about victims redacted—had they been in charge.[121] In September, appearing before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Patel defended his tenure and his handling of the Epstein files. The combative hearing devolved into shouting matches at several moments.[122] The next day, he testified before the House Committee on the Judiciary and denied that he had withheld Epstein-related evidence to defend Trump.[123]
In May, Patel disbanded the bureau's public corruption squad,[124] known internally as CR15.[125] In October, after document releases by SenatorChuck Grassley about theArctic Frost investigation into electoral malpractice, Patel wrote on social media that CR15 agents had "tracked the communications of GOP Senators" and "weaponized law enforcement against the American people".[126] He announced that the FBI had fired agents involved in the investigation and launched an internal inquiry.[127][128] In September, three former FBI officials—Brian Driscoll, Steven Jensen, and Spencer Evans—sued Patel and Bondi, alleging wrongful termination. The suit claimed that Patel, acting under direction from the White House and the Department of Justice, fired agents who had worked on investigations involving Trump. According to the lawsuit, Patel privately acknowledged that the firings were retaliatory, potentially illegal, and in violation of FBI protocols that protect agents from political retribution. The alleged statements contradicted Patel's sworn testimony to the Senate.[129] That month, Patel fired about 20 agents, including those who were photographed kneeling amid theGeorge Floyd protests.[130]
In November, at least four agents tied to the Arctic Frost investigation or Special Counsel Jack Smith's probe were terminated, briefly reinstated at the intervention of U.S. AttorneyJeanine Pirro, and then terminated again the next day. TheFBI Agents Association criticized the dismissals as "a campaign of erratic and arbitrary retribution", saying, "an agent simply being assigned to an investigation and conducting it appropriately within the law should never be grounds for termination."[131]
In September, the political activistCharlie Kirk was assassinated atUtah Valley University. The investigation into his killing involved the FBI, which offered technical and logistical support.[132] As the suspect remained elusive, Patel posted on X that a suspect was in custody; at a briefing minutes later, Utah officials indicated the search was ongoing. The next morning, according toThe New York Times, Patel criticized subordinates' performance in a profanity-laden meeting, saying he would not tolerate any more "Mickey Mouse operations". He and Bongino traveled to Utah to oversee the investigation.[133]
After backlash from Elon Musk and other prominent conservatives over theAnti-Defamation League's (ADL) inclusion of Kirk andTurning Point USA in its "Glossary of Extremism", the FBI cut ties with the ADL. Patel made a statement condemning the ADL, saying "This FBI won't partner with political fronts masquerading as watchdogs" and criticizing its ties toJames Comey.[134] Two days later, Patel announced the FBI was also severing ties with theSouthern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), calling it a "partisan smear machine".[135] The SPLC had served as a primary source for theFBI Richmond Catholic memo.[136] According toThe Washington Times, SenatorChuck Grassley found at least 13 FBI documents citing the organization, with one agent acknowledging that "our overreliance on the SPLC for hate designation is... problematic".[137]
In November 2025,The New York Times reported thatMI5 directorKen McCallum had asked Patel in May to protect the job of an FBI agent stationed in London who worked with high-tech surveillance technology. Patel agreed to find funding to keep the position, but the job had already been slated for elimination as the White House moved to cut the FBI budget. The agent was reassigned to the United States, leaving MI5 officials "incredulous," according toThe New York Times, which described the episode as "a jarring introduction to Mr. Patel's leadership style."[138]
We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media. Yes, we're going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections — we're going to come after you.
Patel has been widely described as a loyalist to PresidentDonald Trump.[b] He shares Trump's view that the FBI has been weaponized against conservatives. He has called for "major, major reform", citing the bureau'smisuse of its surveillance authority under the FISA[146] andJames Comey's handling of theHillary Clinton email investigation. He has argued the bureau should redistribute agents from Washington to field offices.[147]
In February 2022, following aDurham court filing in theMichael Sussmann case, Patel toldFox News that Clinton's lawyers had worked to "infiltrate"Trump Tower andWhite House servers.[77] Fox News then used his phrasing in a headline attributing the claim to Durham's filing, though the filing itself used the word "exploited" rather than "infiltrate" and did not allege that theClinton campaign directed the activity.[148][149]John Durham subsequently said that "third parties or members of the media" might have "overstated, understated, or otherwise misinterpreted" his filing.[77]
In December 2023, Patel toldSteve Bannon onWar Room that he would "come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helpedJoe Biden rig presidential elections"—echoingfalse claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.[139]
Patel's memoir,Government Gangsters (2023), calls for weakening civil service job protections;[150] Trump praised the book as a "roadmap to end the Deep State's reign".[151] In September 2024, Patel vowed to close theJ. Edgar Hoover Building, the FBI headquarters, "reopen it the next day as a museum of the 'deep state'", and "take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to chase down criminals".[150] He criticizedElon Musk'sacquisition ofTwitter on his podcast,Kash's Corner, calling him a monopolist who had improper access to data and accrued his wealth through government contracts.[152]
Patel has been accused by Democrats of promoting a number of conspiracy theories,[c] including conspiracy theories about adeep state and theJanuary 6 Capitol attack. Patel claimed thatRay Epps, a member of theOath Keepers, was a secret FBI agent.[75] He played a key role in reframing the January 6 attack, according toUSA Today.[157] OnTruth Social, Patel recommended pills that claimed to detoxify thecoronavirus spike protein provided byCOVID-19 vaccines.[158] OnKash's Corner, he advocated for FBI reform because of alleged "illegitimacy", citing theHunter Biden laptop controversy. He has promoted theRussia investigation origins conspiracy theory.[74]
Patel has been involved in theQAnon community, but during his 2025 confirmation hearing he repudiated QAnon, saying, "I have publicly, including in the interviews provided to this committee, rejected outright QAnon baseless conspiracy theories." He has signed copies ofThe Plot Against the King (2022) with "#WWG1WGA", a QAnon message, and created the #FlannelFridays trend.[159] In 2022, Patel said he specifically agreed with QAnon rhetoric surrounding theorigin of SARS-CoV-2, the January 6 Capitol attack, and thefirst andsecond impeachments ofDonald Trump.[160] He has appeared at theReAwaken America Tour, a far-right event that promotes QAnon.[161]
In October 2019, Patel filed a $44-million defamation suit againstThe New York Times, and the next month he suedPolitico for $25 million, over articles reporting that NSC colleagues had grown concerned he was giving President Trump Ukraine-related materials.[162][17][163] The articles drew onFiona Hill's testimony in theimpeachment inquiry into Trump; Patel said the outlets reported secondhand speculation as established fact and that he had never communicated with Trump about Ukraine.[164] Patel's lawyers moved to dismiss both lawsuits in 2021; according to theTimes, Patel did not pursue his case against the paper, whilePolitico's lawyers suggested that the judge was prepared to dismiss the case.[162]
In December 2020, Patel sued CNN for $50 million for defamation over articles connecting him to efforts to spread conspiracy theories aboutJoe Biden. The trial court dismissed the case, and in January 2025 theVirginia Court of Appeals affirmed, ruling that Patel, as a public official, had failed to adequately plead that CNN acted withactual malice.[165]
In May 2023, Patel sued theDepartment of Defense over delays in the prepublication review of his memoir,Government Gangsters. The book was published later that year.[162] In June, he sued Jim Stewartson, an online commentator, for defamation over accusations that Patel was a "Kremlin asset" and had planned the January 6 attack. In August 2025, a federal judge issued a default judgment awarding Patel and his foundation $250,000 after Stewartson failed to respond to the lawsuit.[166]
In September 2024, Patel sued FBI directorChristopher A. Wray and otherDepartment of Justice officials, arguing that a 2017 grand jury subpoena for his communication records was retaliation for his work on theNunes memo.[162][167] The case was dismissed; JudgeAmit Mehta ruled the lawsuit did not establish a Fourth Amendment violation and that the defendants were entitled toqualified immunity.[167]
In June 2025, Patel filed a defamation lawsuit againstFrank Figliuzzi, a former FBI assistant director, over comments Figliuzzi made onMSNBC'sMorning Joe suggesting Patel spent more time in nightclubs than at FBI headquarters.[168] MSNBC issued a correction, and Patel's complaint stated he had "not spent a single minute inside of a nightclub" since becoming director.[169] Figliuzzi moved to dismiss, calling the suit "performative" and arguing that "no reasonable viewer would have understood the remark as literal fact."[170]
Patel has written three children's books inspired by his political views.The Plot Against the King, a storybook about theSteele dossier was published by Brave Books in 2022.[171] He later wroteThe Plot Against the King: 2000 Mules (2022),[159] and releasedThe Plot Against the King 3: The Return of the King after the2024 presidential election.[172] In 2023,[173] Patel wroteGovernment Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy (2023), which contains claims about theFBI investigation into Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign thatThe New York Times characterized as false or misleading. While a Justice Department inspector general found the FBI made errors in itsCarter Page wiretap applications, the specific flaws Patel alleged were largely not among them.[174] An appendix toGovernment Gangsters includes a list of 60 names labeled "Members of the Executive Branch Deep State".[175] The list has been widely interpreted as an enemies list,[d] though Patel rejected that term in his Senate confirmation hearing.[176] The memoir was later adapted into a documentary produced by former Trump advisorSteve Bannon.[6]
In his youth, Patel playedice hockey.[2] He later coached a youth hockey league.[9] Patel skates with the Dons, a club team inWashington, D.C.[2]
In October 2022, Patel metAlexis Wilkins, a country singer, at an event as part of theReAwaken America Tour. They began dating in January 2023.[98]
White House mixes up who is temporarily in charge of agency as Trump loyalist heads into Senate confirmation hearing
Several Republican lawmakers fell in line on Sunday behind President-elect Donald J. Trump's plan to choose Kash Patel to lead the F.B.I., defending the incoming president's right to install a loyalist who has vowed to use the position to exact revenge on Mr. Trump's adversaries.
Patel is a staunch Trump loyalist who wants to upend what he says is the entrenched bureaucracy running federal law enforcement.
He placed Kash Patel, a conspiracy theorist who has since written a children's book about the Russia investigation in which a "King Donald" is persecuted by a wicked "Hillary Queenton" and vowed to prosecute journalists in a second Trump administration, in the Pentagon as chief of staff to the acting defense secretary and considered him for a senior C.I.A. post.
But Democrats say Patel is a far-right conspiracy theorist with little experience in law enforcement, and someone who would put fealty to Trump above his oath to lead a department that is meant to operate independently.
Patel rebutted Democratic allegations that he was a "conspiracy theorist" by saying he believes QAnon "baseless", despite his past praise for the movement that promotes the false notion that top Democrats are at the helm of an international pedophilia cabal.
It has been widely interpreted as an enemies list and singles out former executive branch officials but is by no means "comprehensive", according to Mr. Patel.
Patel, who has been critical of current federal officials, has sparked controversy for including in his book a list known as the "Executive Branch Deep State", which some have referred to as an enemies list that he could seek to prosecute as FBI director.
One person watched with dread Trump's Dec 8 appearance on NBC'sMeet the Press, in which he was asked if he wanted Patel to investigate people on the enemies list.
Asked about Patel's book "Government Gangsters", in which he included a 60-person "enemies list", Schmitt dismissed that as a "footnote" in the book and insisted that Patel does not have an "enemies list".
Media related toKash Patel at Wikimedia Commons| Government offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 2025–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by Marvin G. Richardson Acting | Director of theBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Acting 2025 | Succeeded by Daniel P. Driscoll Acting |
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| Federal Bureau of Investigation | ||
Italics denotes an acting director. | ||
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