Patel drew fire from Democrats for his defence of pro-Trump rioters who attacked Capitol on January 6, 2021
\nNews Agency
\nWASHINGTON
\nThe Republican-controlled US Senate on Thursday confirmed Kash Patel, a staunch loyalist who has threatened to go after President Donald Trump\u2019s political enemies, as director of the FBI, the country\u2019s top law enforcement agency.
\nPatel, 44, whose nomination sparked fierce but ultimately futile opposition from Democrats, was approved by a 51-49 vote.
\nThe vote was split along party lines with the exception of two Republican senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, who voted not to confirm Patel to head the 38,000-strong Federal Bureau of Investigation.
\nPatel drew fire from Democrats for his promotion of conspiracy theories, his defence of pro-Trump rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and his vow to root out members of a supposed \u201cdeep state\u201d plotting to oppose the Republican president.
\nDemocratic Senator Dick Durbin, in a Senate speech opposing Patel\u2019s nomination, said he is \u201cdangerously, politically extreme\u201d and has \u201crepeatedly expressed his intention to use our nation\u2019s most important law enforcement agency to retaliate against his political enemies.\u201d
\nThe Senate has approved all of Trump\u2019s cabinet picks so far, underscoring his iron grip on the Republican Party.
\nAmong them is Tulsi Gabbard, confirmed as the nation\u2019s spy chief despite past support for adversarial nations including Russia and Syria, and vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be health secretary.
\nPatel, in a statement on X, said he was honoured to become the FBI director.
\n\u201cThe American people deserve an FBI that is transparent, accountable, and committed to justice,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThe politicisation of our justice system has eroded public trust\u2014but that ends today,\u201d he added. \u201cMy mission as Director is clear: let good cops be cops\u2014and rebuild trust in the FBI.
\n\u201cAnd to those who seek to harm Americans\u2014consider this your warning,\u201d he said. \u201cWe will hunt you down in every corner of this planet.\u201d
\n\u2018Enemies list\u2019
\nPatel replaces Christopher Wray, who was named FBI chief by Trump during his first term.
\nRelations between Wray and Trump became strained, however, and though he had three years left in his 10-year tenure, Wray resigned after Trump won November\u2019s presidential election.
\nA son of Indian immigrants and former federal prosecutor, the New York-born Patel served in several high-level posts during Trump\u2019s first administration, including as senior director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council.
\nThere were fiery exchanges at Patel\u2019s confirmation hearing last month as Democrats brought up a list of 60 supposed \u201cdeep state\u201d actors\u2014all critics of Trump\u2014he included in a 2022 book, whom he said should be investigated or \u201cotherwise reviled.\u201d
\nPatel has denied having an \u201cenemies list\u201d and told the Senate Judiciary Committee he was merely interested in bringing lawbreakers to book.
\n\u201cAll FBI employees will be protected against political retribution,\u201d he said.
\nThe FBI has been in turmoil since Trump took office, and a number of agents have been fired or demoted, including some involved in the prosecutions of Trump for seeking to overturn the 2020 election results and mishandling classified documents.
\nNine FBI employees have sued the Justice Department seeking to block efforts to collect information on agents who were involved in investigating Trump and the Capitol riot.
\nIn their complaint, the FBI agents said the efforts were part of a \u201cpurge\u201d orchestrated by Trump as \u201cpolitically motivated retribution.\u201d
\nTrump, on his first day in the White House, pardoned more than 1,500 of his supporters who stormed Congress in a bid to block certification of Democrat Joe Biden\u2019s election victory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Patel drew fire from Democrats for his defence of pro-Trump rioters who attacked Capitol on January 6, 2021 News Agency WASHINGTON The Republican-controlled US Senate on Thursday confirmed Kash Patel, a staunch loyalist who has threatened to go after President Donald Trump\u2019s political enemies, as director of the FBI, the country\u2019s top law enforcement agency. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":463048,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-463031","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n