Senate has confirmed Kashyap Patel as director of the FBI. On Thursday, lawmakers voted 51-49 in favor of appointing Patel as head of the investigative agency, Senate.gov reported.
All Democrats and two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, opposed Patel’s confirmation.
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Who Is Kash Patel?
Patel is President Donald J. Trump’s second term choice for FBI director, replacing Christopher Wray who stepped down from the role in January.
Patel previously served as chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. As chief of staff, he led the executive staff in executing the secretary’s mission and provided counsel on the department’s operations.
He also held the role of deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council during the Trump administration’s first term. In the role, he ensured the execution of the president’s top priorities such as eliminating ISIS and Al-Qa’ida and repatriating American hostages.
Before his stint at the NSC, Patel was a national security adviser and senior counsel to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He was involved in investigations into Russia’s campaign to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Earlier in his career, he was a terrorism prosecutor at the Department of Justice, where he prosecuted individuals with connections to ISIS and Al-Qa’ida.
Patel earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond in Virginia and completed his law degree from the University College London Faculty of Laws in the United Kingdom.
Patel’s Plan for the FBI
Patel previously heavily criticized the FBI and expressed his desire to implement changes within the investigative agency.
In a September interview, he vowed to cease FBI operations at the J. Edgar Hoover Building and transform it into a “museum of the ‘deep state.” He added that the about 7,000 employees working in the Hoover building will be dispersed across the nation to “chase down criminals.”
He also called for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, to be reformed. FISA allows the FBI to surveil suspected spies and terrorists.
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