Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's choice to be director of the FBI, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Top Judiciary Democrat Dick Durbin claimed on the Senate floor that Patel had been behind recent mass firings at the FBI, citing what he described as "highly credible" whistleblower reports indicating Patel had personally directed the ongoing purge of FBI employees prior to his confirmation.
But that was sharply refuted by Senate Republicans, who described the allegation as a baseless and politically motivated attempt to delay Patel's confirmation, and by a Patel aide, who described Durbin's claim as categorically false.
This person told Fox News Digital that Patel flew home to Las Vegas after his confirmation hearing and had "been sitting there waiting for the process to play out."
Patel, a vociferous opponent to the investigations into President Donald Trump and one who served at the forefront of Trump's 2020 election fraud claims, vowed during his confirmation hearing last month that he would not engage in political retribution against agents who worked on the classified documents case against Trump and other politically sensitive matters.
But his confirmation comes at a time when the FBI’s activities, leadership, and personnel decisions are being closely scrutinized for signs of politicization or retaliation.
Patel has faced steep Democratic opposition throughout the confirmation process. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
"Get a warrant" had become a rallying cry of right-wing conservatives worried about the privacy of U.S. citizens, and almost derailed the reauthorization of the surveillance program entirely. Patel said the program has been misused, but he does not support making investigators go to court and plea their case before being able to wiretap any U.S. citizen.
Patel held a number of national security roles during Trump's first administration - chief of staff to acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller, senior advisor to the acting director of national intelligence, and National Security Council official.
He worked as a senior aide on counterterrorism for former House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, where he fought to declassify records he alleged would show the FBI's application for a surveillance warrant for 2016 Trump campaign aide Carter Page was illegitimate, and served as a national security prosecutor in the Justice Department.
Trump has called Patel the right man to clean up the FBI. (AP/iStock)
In public comments, Patel has suggested he would refocus the FBI on law enforcement and away from involvement in any prosecutorial decisions.
In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, he suggested his top two priorities are to "let good cops be cops" and transparency, which he described as "essential."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"If confirmed, I will focus on streamlining operations at headquarters while bolstering the presence of field agents across the nation," he wrote. "Collaboration with local law enforcement is crucial to fulfilling the FBI’s mission."
Patel went on: "Members of Congress have hundreds of unanswered requests to the FBI. If confirmed, I will be a strong advocate for congressional oversight, ensuring that the FBI operates with the openness necessary to rebuild trust by simply replying to lawmakers."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/kash-patel-seante-confirmation-vote