Kash Patel Nomination For FBI Director Advances To Full Senate

Kash Patel, who is President Donald Trump‘s pick to be director of the FBI, cleared a key hurdle on Thursday in the Senate confirmation process after a one-week delay at the behest of Senate Democrats.

The Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines to favorably report Patel to the full Senate. Leadership is expected to move toward a final confirmation vote in the coming days. Patel will need a simple majority to be confirmed.

Patel was poised to get a committee vote last Thursday, but Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) announced during a meeting that the nomination was “held over” in recognition of a request by the Democrats as prescribed under the panel’s rules.

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee similarly secured a one-week delay on consideration of Pam Bondi to become U.S. Attorney General last month. She has since been confirmed to the Cabinet position by the full Senate.

At the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on Thursday before the vote, Republican members argued Patel would restore trust in the FBI while Democrats raised concerns about the nominee’s qualifications and reliability.

“Mr. Patel should be considered our next FBI director because the FBI has been infected by political bias and weaponized against the American people. Mr. Patel knows it, Mr. Patel exposed it, and Mr. Patel’s been targeted for it,” Grassley said.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the ranking member, said he was “even more convinced” that Patel “has neither the experience, the judgment nor the temperament to lead the FBI” after reviewing his record, meeting him, and questioning him.

An FBI director answers directly to the U.S. Attorney General and serves a single term of up to 10 years. Chris Wray, a Trump nominee who stayed on as FBI director in the Biden administration, stepped down last month.

Trump nominated Patel, a leading investigator for the House Intelligence Committee who later served in multiple high-level national security positions within the president’s first administration, in late November.

“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 said, adding Patel played a role in uncovering the Russiagate scandal.

During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the end of last month, Patel said, “Protecting the rights of the Constitution is of the utmost importance to me and has been every single time I have taken that oath of office.”