Trump picks loyalist Kash Patel as director of the FBI

NEWS WIRES

1 December 2024 at 2:16 am·1-min read

Kash Patel speaks during a campaign event for Republican election candidates in Tucson, Arizona on July 31, 2022.

President-elect Donald Trump has picked staunch ally Kash Patel to run the Federal Bureau of Investigation, an appointment that would require confirmation by the US Senate. Patel supports the hardline Republican notion that allegedly biased government bureaucrats, or a so-called “deep state”, have worked to stifle Trump from behind the scenes.

US President-elect Donald Trump aims to make loyalist Kash Patel the next director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, he said on Saturday, in a move that would mean replacing the agency’s current leader.

Trump announced the former advisor and Pentagon official, who has been critical of the bureau and is known for his controversial views on a so-called government “deep state,” as his choice for the post on his Truth Social network.

The FBI’s current director, Christopher Wray, was appointed to a 10-year term in 2017, meaning he would either need to step down or be fired.

The FBI under Wray—who Trump appointed—has investigated the incoming president, sparking Trump’s ire.

“Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Comey had angered Trump with an FBI investigation into the president’s extensive ties to Russia.

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