US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated lawyer Kash Patel for the position of director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He announced this on Saturday on his Truth Social platform, reports TASR with reference to world agencies.
“I am proud to announce that Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel will serve as the next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “Kash is a brilliant attorney, investigator and America First advocate who has dedicated his career to exposing corruption, defending justice and protecting the American people,” Trump wrote.
Patel, a descendant of immigrants from India, has done an “incredible job” in his previous positions, according to Trump. Under his leadership, the FBI will end the growing “crime epidemic” in the US, dismantle “criminal migrant gangs” and stop cross-border human and drug trafficking.
Patel, like many of Trump’s nominees, is considered a loyal supporter of Trump. Trump recalled that he already worked for his first administration, in which, among other things, he headed the anti-terrorism department in the National Security Council of the White House and later became the head of the office of the Ministry of Defense.
Before coming to the White House, Patel served on the House Intelligence Committee, which investigated alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election. According to CNN, Patel played a key role in efforts by some Republicans to discredit the FBI’s investigation into that interference.
Trump himself has repeatedly openly expressed his distrust of the FBI, whose agents searched his Florida residence and found classified government documents.
He considers the FBI a threat
Patel is considered a critic of the FBI in its current form. A few days ago, the news portal Axios quoted from Patel’s book, in which he writes about the FBI that “it will remain a threat to citizens unless drastic measures are taken.”
He has said in the past that he intends to go after government officials who leak information to reporters and change the law to make it easier to sue journalists. “We’re going to go after people in the media who lied about American citizens who helped Joe Biden rig the presidential election,” Patel said.
Patel, if approved by Congress, would replace FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was appointed by Trump in 2017 but quickly fell out of favor with the president and his allies. Although the FBI director’s tenure lasts ten years, Wray’s removal would not be unexpected.
