Who is Kash Patel? 5 things to know about Donald Trump's firebrand pick to lead the FBI
President-elect Donald Trump is planning to nominate Kashyap “Kash” Patel as director of the FBI, tapping the longtime loyalist to lead the the law enforcement agency he has often criticized.
The announcement Saturday signals Trump's intention to oust current FBI Director Christopher Wray. Trump nominated Wray in 2017 to what was supposed to be a 10-year term.
Patel has called for sweeping changes at the FBI. He has condemned the bureau's investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election. He also laid out drastic plans in a September interview on the conservative "Shawn Ryan Show" podcast to reform and shrink the agency.
"I'd shut down the FBI Hoover Building on day one and reopen it the next day as a museum to the deep state," he said, taking aim at longtime members of the national security bureaucracy.
Here's what to know about Trump’s latest administration pick:
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Who is Kash Patel?
Patel, 44, is a former national security official who advised the director of national intelligence and the secretary of defense during Trump's first administration.
A former federal prosecutor and federal public defender, he helped House Republicans probe the FBI's 2016 investigation into ties between Trump's campaign and Russia while he worked as an aid to former Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif. The former lawmaker then chaired the House Intelligence Committee.
A 2019 report found that investigators "did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated" with the Russian government, but it identified "numerous links" between them.
During Trump's first impeachment trial, former National Security Council official Fiona Hill told House investigators she was concerned Patel was covertly serving as a messenger between Trump and Ukraine without authorization.
A famous phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2019 ? in which Trump threatened to withhold U.S. aid to Ukraine if he didn't investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden ? led to Trump's first impeachment.
Patel denied the allegations that he was serving as a messenger.
He also found himself involved in Trump's classified documents case. Patel was subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury after claiming Trump had declassified all of the records relevant to the investigation.
What has Patel said about the FBI and Trump?
Patel has long stood by Trump, even joining a small group who accompanied the now-president-elect to his New York criminal trial earlier this year.
The admiration is mutual. Trump praised Patel's 2023 book "Government Gangsters" as a "roadmap to end the Deep State's Reign."
Patel hasn't publicly provided a plan about what he would do if confirmed as FBI director. But in his interview on the "Shawn Ryan Show," Patel continued laying out his strategy to transform the FBI's headquarters in Washington.
"I’d take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to chase down criminals," he said. "Go be cops. You're cops — go be cops."
“We’ve got to put in all American patriots top to bottom,” Patel told another Trump surrogate, Steve Bannon, in a recent post-election interview. He said he and Trump administration leaders “will go out and find the conspirators not just in government but in the media” deemed disloyal to Trump.
Why has Patel faced criticism?
Patel has pushed extensive conspiracy theories about federal government employees, Trump critics, the 2020 presidential election, the COVID-19 vaccine and more.
Nonpartisan government watchdog group Accountable.US called Patel's nomination Trump's "latest cabinet pick to put political loyalty above national security" in a statement Sunday.
Critics on both sides of the aisle have also accused him of not being qualified to lead the FBI. Trump's former Attorney General Bill Barr wrote in his memoir "One Damn Thing After Another" that he remembers saying Patel's appointment to deputy FBI director would happen "over my dead body."
"Patel had virtually no experience that would qualify him to serve at the highest level of the world's preeminent law enforcement agency," Barr wrote in the 2022 book.
Still, top Republicans have defended Patel's approach and qualifications. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Sunday morning shared in a post on X "Kash Patel has extensive experience in national security and intelligence. He is an America First patriot who will bring much-needed change and transparency to the FBI."
Patel's critics have also targeted some of his business dealings and other work. He sells pro-Trump merchandise and uses his nonprofit, The Kash Foundation, to offer financial support to families of those charged for storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the New York Times first reported.
“One of the things that I’m concerned about is that Kash Patel is going to only care about protecting Republicans and not care about protecting every single member of the American population, every single one of us who occasionally gets met with these kind of threats,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.
Will the Senate confirm Patel?
In order to take office, the U.S. Senate will first need to confirm Patel.
Getting the upper chamber's approval isn't a guarantee. While he could be confirmed, several Republican senators have said they aren't ready to rubber stamp just anyone.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., for example, withdrew his nomination to be Trump's attorney general last month as it became apparent there were not enough Republicans willing to support his bid.
But multiple Republican senators have been critical of Wray, the current FBI head.
In an X post Sunday morning, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, slammed Wray as a failure who has "showed disdain" at congressional oversight and said that it's time for a new course.
"Kash Patel must prove to Congress he will reform (and) restore public trust in FBI," Grassley said.
What does this mean for Wray?
The U.S. Senate confirmed Wray, Trump's nominee for FBI director, by a 92-5 vote in 2017.
Sen. Mike Round, R-S.D., said each president wants people who "are loyal to themselves," but he defended Wray during a Sunday appearance on ABC’s "This Week" calling the current FBI director, "a very good man" who Trump picked.
"I don’t have any complaints about the way that he’s done his job right now," Round said.
FBI directors typically serve 10 years, meaning Wray still has about two years left of his current term.
Trump's decision to nominate Patel signals Wray has a decision to make: voluntarily resign or be fired.
Contributing: Josh Meyer, USA TODAY; Reuters
Reach Rachel Barber at [email protected] and follow her on X @rachelbarber_
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What to know about Kash Patel, Trump's pick to lead the FBI