President-elect Trump named Kash Patel as his choice to lead the FBI, after Patel repeatedly slammed federal agencies such as the FBI as corrupted by the « deep state. »
President-elect Trump tapped longtime ally and crusader against the « deep state », Kashyap « Kash » Patel to lead the FBI, where he will work to snuff out America’s « crime epidemic », bust up migrant gangs, and stymie drug and human trafficking, the upcoming president declared in his announcement.
« Kash did an incredible job during my First Term, where he served as Chief of Staff at the Department of Defense, Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council. Kash has also tried over 60 jury trials », Trump posted to Truth Social on Sunday evening.
« This FBI will end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the Border. Kash will work under our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to bring back Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity to the FBI. »
Following Trump’s massive win over Vice President Kamala Harris at the ballot boxes last month, speculation mounted that Patel was a top contender to serve as the FBI chief – an agency Trump and conservatives have repeatedly slammed as « weaponized » against Republicans.
Patel, 44, is a New York native who grew up on Long Island in Garden City, and was raised by Indian immigrant parents. He earned his law degree in 2005 from Pace University, before serving as a public defender in Florida’s Miami-Dade area, where he tried « scores of complex cases ranging from murder, to narco-trafficking, to complex financial crimes in jury trials in state and federal courts », according to his Defense Department biography.
Patel hit the national radar during Trump’s first administration, including when he worked as the national security adviser and senior counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence under the leadership of then-Committee Chair Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.
« Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People. He played a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, standing as an advocate for truth, accountability, and the Constitution », Trump continued in his announcement of Patel as FBI chief.
Patel’s name spread across news reports as he became known as the man behind the « Nunes Memo », a four-page document released in 2018 that revealed improper use of surveillance by the FBI and the Justice Department in the Russia investigation into Trump.
« If they had gotten it right in the first place, when Devin and I and so many others were actually putting out the truth, instead of serving as a disinformation machine for the left-wing agenda, there would be no reassessment », Patel told Fox News Digital of the memo last year. « They could not have done their work in the deep state without their partners in the mainstream media, who are part of that deep state. »
Patel’s role in the investigation and memo elevated his career status in the Trump orbit, and he was named senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council in 2019 under the first Trump administration. In that role, he assisted the White House in eliminating foreign terrorist leadership, such as ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdad in 2019 and al-Qaeda militant Qasim al-Raymi in 2020, according to his biography.
In November 2020, as Trump squared off against Joe Biden at the ballot boxes, the 45th president named Patel chief of staff to acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. The administration shake-up followed Trump firing Secretary of Defense Mark Esper after the Cabinet member said he did not support invoking the Insurrection Act in order to send the U.
