(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President-elect Donald Trump named longtime loyalist Kash Patel as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for his incoming administration.
During Trump’s first White House term, Patel previously served as a U.S. National Security Council official and chief of staff to the acting secretary of defense. He played a key role in defending Trump amid investigations into Russian inference in the 2016 election.
On Saturday, Trump took to Truth Social to announce that Patel will replace current FBI Director Christopher Wray, whom Trump appointed after firing James Comey in 2017. Patel has vowed to bring the agency to “heel” and has called for shutting down the FBI’s DC headquarters along with removing its leadership.
“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 lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People,” Trump told his followers on Truth Social.
He added, “Kash has also tried over 60 jury trials. 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.”
🚨 President Donald J. Trump announces Kash Patel as the next Director of the FBI pic.twitter.com/x2t42K3tdd
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) November 30, 2024
Wray’s current 10-year term as director does not expire until 2027, meaning Trump will need to fire him.
Patel has vowed to target and possibly prosecute journalists for helping President Joe Biden “rig presidential elections.”
“Yes, we’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections — we’re going to come after you,” Patel said last year to Steve Bannon during an interview. “Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out.”
Patel, 44, is a current member of Trump’s transition team and has helped advise the president-elect on other appointments for his incoming administration.
