President-elect Trump plans to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray with Kash Patel, a move that would install a staunch loyalist to head an agency Trump has repeatedly criticized. Patel can be confirmed only if Trump fires Wray, who is serving a 10-year term, or Wray resigns.
Patel hoped to be CIA deputy director, which would not have required Senate confirmation, unlike the FBI post, which does. It's unclear whether Patel, a divisive figure even among Trump loyalists, will have the Senate votes needed to be confirmed, Politico reports.
The FBI has long been a target of Trump’s anger. While in the White House and since, Trump called the agency “badly broken” and said it “lost the confidence of America.” Trump has singled out Wray, his own choice to be the FBI director during his first term, for criticism.
The 10-year term for FBI directors, which extends beyond two consecutive presidential terms, was enacted in 1976 as a post-Watergate reform.
Patel “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 social media.
Trump said Patel would work with Attorney General-designate Pam Bondi to “bring back Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity to the FBI.” Trump is seeking to replace Wray with someone who has echoed his criticisms of what both men call the “deep state” and spoken approvingly of the need for retribution against perceived enemies.
“Those calling me a danger, let’s just ask them for a proof, a piece of evidence that actually shows I’ve committed any constitutional violations or any ethical quandaries, and I’d love to hear their response to this,” Patel has said.
Patel, whose first name is Kashyap, has worked as a public defender, a federal prosecutor and as the chief of staff to Christopher Miller, acting defense secretary during part of Trump’s first term. Patel worked as a counterterrorism adviser in Trump’s first White House.
Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, a harsh Trump critic since being fired in his first term, called Trump’s choice of Patel a “terrible development” for those working at the agency and for the country, which depend on it to be “highly functioning, professional” and “independent.”
“The fact that Kash Patel is profoundly unqualified for this job is not even like a matter for debate,” McCabe said.
Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), told NBC's "Meet the Press" that Patel “represents the type of change that we need to see in the FBI.”
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL), noted that Wray's term does not expire until 2027, and President Biden retained him "because the FBI is supposed to be insulated from partisanship. Now, the President-elect wants to replace his own appointee with an unqualified loyalist. The Senate should reject this unprecedented effort to weaponize the FBI for the campaign of retribution that Donald Trump has promised.”