The Senate voted on Thursday by a margin of 51 to 49 to confirm President Trump’s nomination of Kash Patel to become the next director of the FBI.
The nomination follows fierce partisan fighting over Patel’s character, qualifications and past comments. The Senate moved forward with the confirmation vote after a filibuster by Senate Democrats to delay the nomination was ended Thursday morning.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted against Patel’s nomination, breaking with many Senate Republicans. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voted in favor of Patel’s nomination in a break from his recent opposition to some of Trump’s appointees including Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary and Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence.
Senate Judiciary Committee members showed partisan divides over Patel’s nomination when they clashed fiercely in 12 to 10 vote on Feb. 13 that moved Patel’s nomination on to the Senate floor.
Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Patel’s nomination marked an opportunity for the FBI to root out corruption and reduce political biases.
“These law enforcement agencies are out of control, drunk on power, and blinded by political infection,” Grassley said. “It’s time to force them to recognize they answer to Congress and ‘We the people,’” he added.
Ranking Member Dick Durbin, D-Ill., starkly contrasted Grassley’s comments and called attention to previous comments from Patel about an “enemies list,” comments made about overhauling the FBI, and the impact of Patel’s leadership on existing FBI staff.
“To invite this political warfare that’s been described already is to the detriment of the men and women who are risking their lives for us in this agency,” Durbin said.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., spoke in favor of Patel’s nomination and highlighted his commitment to prosecuting sex trafficking, violent crime, and reestablishing faith in political institutions.
“The American people on November 5 voted to see change,” Blackburn said. “They want transparency and accountability, they want the end of two tiers of justice, and they want to restore faith in our American institutions,”
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said corruption in the FBI is not a primary concern for the American public and that Patel’s nomination was based on his loyalty to President Trump, rather than personal qualifications.
“He intends to, very clearly, abuse his powers in the FBI for his own ends and to that of the President to which he is 100 percent loyal. That is his biggest qualification to be FBI director, which is not much in my view,” Hirono said.
Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., said the FBI should prioritize criminal cases involving migrants in the United States.
“You have to have an FBI director that is focused and targeted … to make sure those individuals are sought after and rounded up,” Moody said. “Indeed, we have DAs, mayors, commissioners, and governors that don’t care about the rule of law and have allowed crime to explode. So, you have an FBI to fill that gap,” she added.
As the committee moved to vote on the nomination, Sen. Corey Booker, D-N.J., expressed his frustration at Patel’s nomination and the lack of further evaluation of his qualifications.
“I am actually stunned by the fact that we are going to have a straight party-line vote on one really unqualified candidate for this office who so clearly has many areas of his background that this committee has not thoroughly explored,” Booker said.
