Kash PatelPresident Trump’s candidate to serve as director of the FBI, will appear on Thursday in Capitol Hill for a high -risk confirmation hearing before the Senate Judicial Committee in the midst of the calls of Republicans for mass reforms in the FBI leadership and Democrats concerns about their physical state to lead the main agency for the application of the Law of the Nation.
Patel, a firm ally of Trump and former federal prosecutor and national security official, was announced by Mr. Trump in December Take the helm of the agency that has long been the objective of the wrath of the president. The director of the FBI at that time, Christopher Wray, appointed by Mr. Trump in his first term, then He announced his departure From superior work despite not having fulfilled the full period of ten years. He told him 60 minutes that his decision was partly driven by the desire to make the transition “in an orderly manner” and “not to push the FBI more deeply in the fray.”
The presidents have the power to replace the directors of the FBI, since they consider convenient and many previous directors have not fulfilled complete terms of 10 years.
Patel previously served in roles of intelligence and defense in the first mandate of Mr. Trump and held a position in the National Security Council and as chief of cabinet of the Secretary of Defense.
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A Alleged FBI complainant That while serving in the government, Patel violated the firmly entrenched protocols to maintain hostage rescue operations secret until the captives are safely in the hands of the United States and their families have been notified, CBS News previously reported. In a letter obtained by CBS News, Senator Dick Durbin, the Classification Democrat in the Judicial Committee of the Senate, wrote that Patel, while serving in the National Security Council during Trump’s first term, “broke the protocol with respect to The rescues of hostages to public comments without authorization without authorization.
A source close to Patel retreated the accusations and criticisms of the Democrats, saying that CBS News: “Mr. Patel was a public defender, decorated fiscal and a successful national security official who kept the Americans safe. He has a history of Success in each branch in each branch.
Patel, former prosecutor of the Department of Justice, has been very critical of leadership within the organization and claimed that recent cases against Trump were politically armed against the president and republicans, the accusations officials within the agency have previously denied .
In 2023, Patel published a book entitled “Government Gangsters” in which he claimed that “the FBI has been so committed that it will continue to be a threat to people unless drastic measures are taken.” And he has pledged to face government officials and media members who, according to him, “lied about US citizens who helped Joe Biden Rig the presidential elections.”
The FBI received a greater scrutiny from Mr. Trump and his allies in 2022, when the FBI agents executed an authorized raid order by the Court in his Mar-A-Lago residence in Florida. The search presented what had been an ongoing federal investigation on the management of the records classified by Trump after leaving office. The president has denied for a long time and claimed that the Department of Justice and the Department of Justice were attacking him due to political considerations.
If the Senate confirms it, Patel would be the third director of the FBI to work under a Trump administration and would take care of the main federal apparatus for the law in the midst of Trump’s intense criticism and his allies in Capitol Hill. He would inform the United States Attorney General. Trump’s election for that role, former Attorney General of Florida, Pam Bondi, cleared a critical vote of the committee on Wednesday and is likely to be confirmed for his position in the coming days.
Many Republican senators in the Judicial Committee, including President Chuck Grassley of Iowa, have applauded Patel nomination as a step towards the necessary reform.
“The common sense we have in the west: we need more in Washington, DC and I think the [nominees] They will bring it, and Kash is one of them, “said Grassley In a recent podcast.
The Democrats, however, have been Franco in their opposition to Patel nomination and pointed to their past as a reason to worry.
To be confirmed, Patel will first have to receive a majority of the votes within the Judicial Committee of the Senate led by the Republican Party, after which its nomination would be presented to the complete Senate for a vote.
Daniel Klaidman contributed to this report.
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