Donald Trump’s FBI pick Kash Patel on Thursday greeted his parents with ‘Jai Shri Krishna’ after introducing them at his confirmation hearing to head the federal agency.
The Indian-origin presented himself as a suitable candidate to lead the FBI, an agency he claimed had lost public confidence. He assured senators of his commitment to transparency and proper procedures if confirmed as director.
He during the hearing faced intense scrutiny from Senate Democrats regarding his allegiance to the president and his proposed organisational changes.
Prior to his nomination, he had criticised the bureau’s investigations into the president and argued that the Justice Department had mistreated January 6 participants.
The Senate Judiciary Committee‘s leading Democrat, Senator Dick Durbin, highlighted the FBI’s vital role in safeguarding America from various threats, stating that they “needs an FBI director who understands the gravity of this mission and is ready on day one, not someone who is consumed by his own personal political grievances.”
In November, Patel was selected to succeed Christopher Wray, who served as the head of the premier federal law enforcement agency for over seven years until his departure.
Patel’s background includes positions as a House Intelligence Committee aide and federal prosecutor during Trump’s initial administration. Critics have expressed concern over his statements in numerous podcasts and publications, where he has shown strong support for Trump whilst criticising the agency’s leadership decisions. He has specifically named officials he believes warrant investigation.
In a podcast interview last year, he suggested that if appointed FBI director, he would “shut down” the bureau’s headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington and “reopen it the next day as a museum of the ‘deep state.'”
“And I’d take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to go chase down criminals. Go be cops,” he added.