Donald Trump nominated Kash Patel to be FBI director, naming a loyalist to lead the nation’s top law enforcement agency — which the president-elect has long viewed as corrupt.
Patel gained prominence when he expressed outrage over the agency’s investigation into whether the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. If confirmed, Patel would replace Christopher Wray, chosen by Trump in his first term as president.
In an ad on his Truth Social network, Trump called Patel “a brilliant lawyer, investigator and ‘America First’ fighter” who played a “pivotal role in exposing the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax.”
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As the nation’s top law enforcement agency, the FBI has been at the center of the most high-profile investigations related to the president-elect. Trump promised drastic reform, claiming the FBI conducted politically motivated investigations against him and his allies.
After leaving the White House, FBI agents entered Trump’s Florida resort to seize classified documents, investigated his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and investigated people who stormed the US Capitol in his support.
The FBI is headquartered in Washington and has 56 regional offices across the country that investigate cases ranging from cyberattacks and white-collar crimes to homicides and allegations of sexual misconduct.
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“This FBI will end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle criminal migrant gangs, and stop the terrible plague of human and drug trafficking at the border,” Trump said on Saturday (30).
Patel is also critical of government agencies for actions he says unfairly target Republicans.
In his book “Government Gangsters” — which Trump called a “plan to take back the White House” — Patel supported calls to fire government officials who undermine the president’s agenda.
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“We must identify the people in government who are eroding our constitutional republic,” Patel said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in July.
In Trump’s first administration, Patel held several acting national security positions, including chief of staff to acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller in the final months of Trump’s tenure in the White House.
He also served as senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council and as senior advisor to Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell.
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The FBI is part of the US Department of Justice, which notified former Trump nominee for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, last year that he would not face charges following an investigation into whether he had a sexual relationship with a girl 17 years old in exchange for money. The former Florida congressman has consistently denied the allegations.
Gaetz faced an uphill confirmation battle and withdrew his nomination on Nov. 21, saying the process was “unfairly becoming a distraction from the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
Trump then said he would nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead the Justice Department. Bondi is an experienced conservative lawyer without the political and legal baggage that Gaetz had.
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Speculation was mounting that, once inaugurated, Trump would fire Wray as head of the FBI if he did not resign first. Trump chose Wray to lead the FBI in 2017, calling him at the time “impeccably qualified.”
During his tenure, Wray has tried to steer the FBI away from political turmoil, including by hollowing out leadership when he took over and implementing new restrictions on how analysts can search intelligence databases and obtain classified warrants.
Trump signaled for the first time that he viewed FBI leadership as the enemy under former director James Comey, who opened an investigation in 2016 into whether the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to interfere in that year’s presidential election. The investigation was closed without charges. Trump fired Comey.
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In his list of “key reforms to defeat the shadow state” outlined in his book, Patel calls for the FBI headquarters to be moved from Washington to “prevent FBI leadership from engaging in political games.” He also suggested significantly reducing the office of general counsel within the FBI, which he said has taken on “prosecution decisions” rather than operating solely as an investigative body.
Patel also had close ties to former Republican Representative Devin Nunes, who was chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and helped lead opposition to the investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Patel may face resistance from more traditional sectors of the Republican Party.
Gina Haspel, who led the CIA during Trump’s first term and spent decades at the agency, reportedly threatened to resign in late 2020 when Trump sought to install Patel as his deputy, thwarting her nomination, according to the Axios.
The FBI has been a frequent target of Trump and his loyalists in recent years.
“I would close the FBI Hoover Building on day one and reopen it the next day as a shadow state museum,” Patel said on the “Shawn Ryan Show” podcast following Trump’s re-election.
DEA Leader
Trump also announced on Saturday that he is nominating Chad Chronister, the sheriff of Hillsborough County, Florida, to head the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
“As DEA Administrator, Chad will work with our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to secure the border, stop the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs across the southern border, and SAVE LIVES,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Chronister served in the sheriff’s office for 32 years, according to his biography on the department’s website.
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